


mikansei love story

by bunning



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Angst and Drama, BTS AU, Drama & Romance, F/M, Gang AU, Gangs, Multi, Organized Crime, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:40:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26578462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunning/pseuds/bunning
Summary: Namjoon was apart of the Dokkaebi, an offshoot gang of the Seoul Shiwang crime ring, a notorious group reknowned for their bruatlity and efficiency. Tied to his name was a debt he inherited from his father, which landed him on the shortlist for odd jobs and errands to run for the higher ups, as well as his duties to the Dokkaebi; due to this obligation, most nights he didn't sleep.Haneuel was the locus of her parents' expecations, attention and control; what she could buy, what she could eat, who she was supposed to be. Their fantasy of this fabled girl was a far cry from her crippling reality; she said nothing because there was nothing to say, and she did well in school because being compared to her sister was a nightmare of its own.Both of their lives spiraled down the rabbit hole the moment they collided.
Relationships: Kim Namjoon | RM/Original Female Character(s), Kim Namjoon | RM/Reader, Kim Namjoon | RM/You
Kudos: 1





	1. moth & flame

**Author's Note:**

> 不完全... 不完全... 不完全
> 
> [すべてが接続されています]
> 
> すべてが間違っていた
> 
> .,`*`,.
> 
> There is a hole in my soul  
> I have tried to fill it   
> Nothing fits  
> Everything is connected  
> Something’s missing  
> Everything has gone wrong  
> Something’s missing  
> Incomplete, incomplete, incomplete
> 
> .,`*`,.

sometime in the future

“Jungkook, what the fuck?!”  
“There wasn’t any other choice, Jin! I had to, otherwise they were going to tear us apart.”  
“What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck…”  
“Just calm down! Everything’s better now.”  
“How? How was killing Chung-hee a good fucking idea?”  
“Wipe that stupid ass smile off your face, Jimin. This shit ain’t funny.”  
“It’s not? His body is on the floor of my father's practice!”  
“That’s not my fucking fault!”  
“You touch me again, I’ll beat your ass.”  
“Chill the fuck out. We can’t be fighting each other right now! We’ve gotta… move it somewhere.”  
“Let the guy who killed him clean it up.”  
“I thought this was what you wanted…? What did I do wrong, hyung?”  
“Everything.”  
“Relax, Jungkook… we’ll figure something out.”  
“Hey, Joonie, what’s taking… so long…”  
“Great. What the fuck’s she doing here?”  
“Haneul, you need to go back outside.”  
“He’s… he’s hurt.”  
“Haneul! Go back outside.”  
"He needs help!"  
"Go back outside."  
"I don't wanna be here anymore!"

the present

“No… that makes your torso look too long, Nana.” Haneul looked her younger sister up and down, her face scrunching up when she noticed even more fashion atrocities. “Just… put on another shirt.”  
Nari stepped back into the mirror, “I think I look cute! Don't be jealous.”  
“I think you look long.”

Nari shot a look at her elder, then took another glance at herself. Her head tilted to the side, “Okay, well, maybe you’re right. Let’s just go to another store. I’ll find what I’m looking for soon enough.”  
Haneul leaned up against the now closed changing room door, eyeing all the shopping bags they’d accumulated.  
“It’ll have to be the last. We’ve got too many bags already!”

“Dad said we could shop as much as we want!” Nari pouted.  
Haneul picked up her own bags and turned around, “I’m tired, Nana! Just hurry up, okay?”

'I'm surprised I can stand being around her this long,' Haneul thought. 

Nari ran out of the room and jumped on Haneul, acting a decade younger than what she was. “Thank you”  
Haneul laughed, and let Nari slide off. “C’mon. We’ll miss the train if we take too long.”

Nari gave Haneul a sideways glance, “We won’t miss the train. Anyway, I hope we're in the same class like last year.”  
“For the sake of the teachers, they’ll probably cancel that,” Haneul laughed. 

‘In fact, I hope we hardly see each other.’ Haneul thought. 'I didn't forget how you screwed me over last year.'

The younger sister placed her hands over her heart, “I hope Junghwan’s in my class. He’s so cute.”  
Haneul stared at Nari as she walked, not bothering to care where she was going. “Are you serious? That guy’s such an ass—”

Haneul collided with a body like a wall, sending her to the floor and ending her lecture.  
A phone clattered on the ground, but it was irrelevant to her whose it was, as the sensation of cold liquid soaked her shirt and covered her skin. 

“Aish!” A deep voice growled.  
Haneul was too focused on her shirt to care about the other party. “Damn it! This was one of my favorite shirts.”  
“So? My fucking phone’s broken.”  
“So? My shirt’s ruined because you can’t watch where you’re going!”

The group he’d been walking with became apparent after they congregated behind him, two others raring to approach.  
“Watch where the fuck you’re going.” The lips those words came from were full; she’d have thought him attractive, if his words weren’t so harsh.  
Haneul bared her teeth, “Fuck off.”

‘What an asshole.’ 

“Woah, you keep talking like that and you can break more than my phone.”

‘Idiot.’ 

Haneul rolled her eyes, “Whatever.” She picked up one of her bags, “Let’s go.”  
“Right,” Nari mumbled, frazzled by the encounter. She jogged to catch up, her voice getting lost in the hubbub of the mall.

“Ah, fuck…” he picked up his phone. The screen was completely cracked, some pieces had fallen out of the frame. “It’s done. Hobi, you think your friend could help me out?”  
“Yeah...” Hobi scratched his head. “Maybe not. You’ll need a new phone.”  
“But you’ve needed a new phone for years.” Taehyung laughed.  
“Now’s as good a time as any, Joonie.” Jin added.  
Namjoon grimaced, “Just what I needed. More bullshit before school starts.”  
*  
“That was so bizarre.” Nari mumbled with a dumpling in her mouth. “You bumped into him, but he didn’t have to be an asshole.”  
The moon had long been in the sky, a backdrop for the loud girls camped out in the main room. Bottles of soda and half empty bags of chips were strewn across the room, with no admonishment because their parents were away on a business trip. 

Haneul paused the variety show, “Exactly! And those goons he were with weren’t much better.”  
“One of them was really cute, though. The one with the lips!” Nari giggled, the sound intensifying when she saw Haneul’s face scrunch up. “Admit it!”  
The elder tossed a few pieces of popcorn in her mouth, “He was cute, but too much of an asshole.”  
“What if that was a chance encounter? Like, in one of those movies.” Nari went on. “Destined to be together,” her voice taking on a dramatic and wistful tone, “and never apart.”  
“Uh-huh.” Haneul started the show up again. “Keep dreaming.”  
“If this was a drama, he’d be like the secret son of a chaebol or something…” Nari mused. “Running away to America, with tons of money!”

Haneul’s face almost fell in her bowl, “Shut up!" She exclaimed, laughing, "I don’t want to keep rewinding.”  
“Fine. But be honest, you wouldn't mind if it was true.”  
Haneul shook her head at her younger sister's incessant projections, and set her face towards the TV. School was starting tomorrow, and she wanted to seize the last bit of fun she could.  
*  
“Hey.” The kid next to her had been pestering her for the better part of 10 minutes, without any sign of letting up. Besides his harassment, his breath was putrid and hot, and she’d been feeling it far too often for comfort. She’d done her best to ignore him, but the repetition began to wear her down. “Hey.”

“What?” She hissed. 

‘Would this kid let up?’ 

“You know the answer to number 12?” He started, then looked back at his paper. “And the rest?”  
She glared at him, then turned back to her paper. “Figure it out yourself.”  
“C’mon! I didn’t have time to study this summer. Sharing is caring.”  
“Fuck off.”  
“Aish. You really are an ice queen.”

The girl continued with her work, ignoring his remark and all others uttered under his breath. She wasn’t about to help him get a good grade because he’d slacked off and didn’t use his time wisely. Besides, there wasn’t anything for her to gain in that arrangement.

“Hey.”

Haneul smothered the urge to yell at him, instead looking over at the empty seat beside her in an attempt to form an escape plan. Before she could move, the classroom door opened and all eyes hovered over to the frame.  
“Nan arayo! E bami heureugo heureumyeon.”

Haneul and other students started laughing, surprised at the old song being sung.  
“Um…?” A student mumbled, looking behind her to see if anyone else was watching.  
“Young man, please stop making a fool of yourself, and come sit down.”  
“Huh?” He stepped through the doorway, cracking a smile at the rest of the class. Haneul’s own face flattened, shocked at who the latecomer turned out to be.

Instantly, she went back to her schoolwork, hoping to disappear into the crowd of students. Her eyes quickly tearing away to see if there were any other empty seats; there was a desk in the front, unoccupied from what she could see. A desperate wish formed in her mind that he’d find his way to the front desk. That hope was dashed when another late student took the seat. 

Haneul’s head fell down on her notebook, disregarding the forehead imprint that was sure to form from her pencil. His footsteps were thunder in her ears, and his flopping into the desk next to her an earthquake. 

“You okay?” He tapped her on the shoulder, but received no response.  
The teacher sighed, “Alright, everyone, get back to your work. Namjoon, I’ll speak to you later.”  
“Yes, sir!” His reply eliciting a few laughs from the class. 

‘It’s only as bad as you think it is,’ she thought. 

Haneul groaned, sitting up in her seat. Namjoon let out an amused laugh, leaning back in his seat.  
“You followin’ me now?”  
Haneul blinked blankly, “Sure.”  
“Hell, I didn’t expect you to be so honest.” He leaned on his hand, watching her work. “Need any help?”  
“I'm fine.”  
He raised his hands in defense, “Woah. I'll leave you alone then.”  
“Thanks.”  
“You got it.”  
“You don’t have to reply to everything I say.”  
“Okay.”  
Haneul felt her head start to pound and clenched her jaw, sending Namjoon into a fit of laughter.

“Namjoon, quiet down.” The teacher said.  
Namjoon stifled his laughing, “Sorry.”  
Haneul glanced over at the guy to her right, “Hey.”  
“What?” He responded.  
“Switch seats with me.”  
He looked at her paper, then his eyes trailed up to her. “Nope.”  
“Aish,” she whispered, biting her lip.

‘This is gonna be a long school year.’

After Haneul and Namjoon’s reacquaintance, she’d taken to retreating into her own world. As it turned out, that world was inundated with notifications from Nari. 

(10:01am) Nana: JUNGHWANS IN MY CLASS ｡ﾟ( ﾟ^∀^ﾟ)ﾟ｡  
(10:01am) Nana: did you hear me?  
(10:02am) Nana: omg hes even more handsome than last year I think hes taller too  
(10:04am) Nana: one of those guys from the mall is in my class  
(10:04am) Nana: his names park jimin I dont think hes my type but hes so dreamy  
(11:34am) Haneul: of course he’s not your type, he’s an asshole  
(11:35am) Haneul: wait. I forgot thats your thing. On account of your attraction towards junghwan  
(11:37am) Nana: ugh youve got such a hard on for talking shit about him  
(11:45am) Nana: Sorry its just you never say anything good about him  
(11:48am) Haneul: this is the same junghwan who spread your nudes around. Wake up

Haneul shook her head and went back to reading her textbook, immediately swelling with guilt. She didn’t intend to be so harsh towards her younger sibling, but Haneul always fell the sensation of hands tightening around her neck whenever she spoke to Nari. 

(11:49am) Haneul: Sorry. I’m just worried about you. I don’t want to see you get hurt like that again.

“Must be nice to have a working phone,” Namjoon commented, exaggeratively erasing a few words in his notebook, which sent the rolled up bits of rubber over onto Haneul's desk.  
Haneul whipped the eraser remnants off of her desk and onto the floor. “Next time watch where you’re going.”  
“Me? Jagi, you were the one who wasn’t looking.”  
“And if you were looking, wouldn’t you have been able to avoid me?”  
Namjoon’s face started to redden, “That’s not the point.”  
“Hmph. Like I said, watch where you’re going.”  
“Are you always this fucking cold?”

Haneul’s head whipped over to him and she shot him a glare that could only be described as venomous, but it didn’t scare him.

Shaking his head, he replied, “that answers my question,” and returned to his books. 

‘If it’s that serious, he can buy a new one. He needs to get over himself.’

Haneul steeled her nerves towards their spat and went back to work, intent on turning the day around.  
*  
The hours seemed to melt away, and lunch was soon in full effect. Haneul still hadn’t received a response from her sister, so she was walking blind without anyone to sit with. She resolved to find her later.  
As she fell into line, her eyes fell upon a classmate from last year. She was surrounded by her lackeys, oblivious to the outside world unless there was an insult to hurl. 

’There’s Min Min-seo. I wonder whose life she’s out to ruin this year.’

After her tray was filled up, she approached the checkout, but her ID was denied.  
“Eh?” She mumbled.  
The lunch lady scanned it again, but the same denial tone rung out. Min-seo and her friends turned to watch, giggling as they went.

“I have money in my account. What’s going on?” Haneul asked, her nerves crackling with energy.  
The lunch lady offered her a knowing look, “I understand if you can’t pay. You wouldn’t be the first. Just go and see—”  
“How much?” He asked.  
The lunch lady met his eyes, “Namjoon, you shouldn’t—”  
“How much?”  
The lunch lady sighed, and after she’d told him the amount, she rung both their lunches up and they were on their way. 

Haneul grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the side.  
“Why did you do that?”  
Namjoon blinked, “You needed help.”  
She scoffed, “I don’t need your help.” Her arms were tightly folded across her chest, “And aren’t you mad that I supposedly broke your phone?”  
“I’m a decent person!” Namjoon laughed with a shrug. “What can I say? If you hadn’t been so rude before, you would’ve seen that.”  
Haneul narrowed her eyes, ‘Maybe, he wants to call a truce?’

She finally relaxed after she’d thought it over. “Thanks.”  
“Sure.” His eyes flickered over to her side, and Haneul turned around.  
“Hey, Nari.” Haneul searched her face for any turmoil.  
Nari smiled, “Hey! Ooh, who’s this?” She turned her attention towards the tall guy Haneul was speaking to.  
“Namjoon.” He smiled.  
“That’s your whole name?” Nari asked, looking to Haneul for reassurance.  
Namjoon nodded, “As far as I’m concerned.”  
“Well, I’m Hwang Nari. Nice to meet you.”  
“Likewise!” Namjoon exclaimed. “Wait, I never got your name.”  
“Hwang Haneul.”  
“Haneul?” Namjoon repeated. “Haneullll,” he noticed the blank expression on her face. “It was supposed to make you laugh! You looked pissed before.”  
Nari looked between the both of them, “Wait, huh?”  
“Nothing.” Haneul cut across. “See you later, Namjoon.”

“Wait! You wanna sit with us?”  
Haneul saw something like earnestness in his eyes, but she chose to stick with Nari out of habit.  
“No, I’ll stick with my sister. Thanks, though.”  
Namjoon nodded, “No worries. See you around.”  
“Bye-bye!” Nari chimed.

The two headed off towards a less populated table, and set their trays down. To Haneul’s chagrin, or her luck, she had a clear view of Namjoon’s table. Most of the guys from the mall were there, save for a few. 

“So, why were you talking to that Namjoon guy?”  
Haneul ate a spoonful of rice, “‘Cause he helped me out. Apparently, my lunch account doesn’t have any money.”  
“Huh? That doesn’t make any sense.”  
“That’s what I thought!”  
“Call mom later on. Maybe, she can help you.” Nari added. 

“So, how do you like your class?”  
Nari smiled, “It’s alright. What about yours?”  
“Namjoon's in my class.”  
“What?!” Nari banged the table.  
Haneul jumped at her reaction, “Don’t do that!”  
“That guy is bad news.” Nari’s voice had taken on a low pitch. “Everybody says he runs with a pretty dangerous crowd. You shouldn’t accept any help from him anymore.”  
“It’s not wise to listen to rumors.” Haneul replied. “If it were true, I’d stay away. That sounds pretty scary.”

‘It's probably nothing to worry about.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya! this is a fic i've been working on for a bit. i was inspired to imagine the bts gang in a grittier setting and see what would come of it. 
> 
> things to note: there's no defining description of Haneul in the story, because she doubles as a reader surrogate/reader-insert*. those were always my favorite fics to read, so imagine her however you'd like! *she has a name due to my dislike of y/n, e/c, h/c, and ___ tags. also, there are trigger warnings on this fic for a reason. i suggest not reading it if you feel that'll be a problem for you or jeapordize your mental health. 
> 
> otherwise, i hope you enjoy! ✩°｡⋆⸜(˙꒳˙ )
> 
> ♥*♡∞:｡.｡ ｡.｡:∞♡*♥


	2. reluctant sacrifice

“Hm…” Namjoon muttered, rolling over on the couch. He scrolled aimlessly through the online takeout menu, but opted to lock his phone.

‘Can’t afford shit on here if I wanted to. I shouldn’t have paid for that girl earlier.’

“What?” Taehyung asked, flipping through the channels.  
Namjoon shook his head, “Nothin’.”

“Suuuure.” Jungkook mocked.  
“You gonna get your phone fixed?” Taehyung asked.  
“It’s functional, besides how fucked up the screen is.” Namjoon ran his thumb over the cracks like ravines.  
Jimin looked over at him, “We could get even.”

The quintet were sitting in their hangout, cut off from the rest of the civilized world. The blinds were drawn, some windows still covered with the makeshift drapes Jin tried to rid the place of, some windows decorated in fine linen. It was an abandoned house Namjoon managed to bootleg the electricity to, and they’d made it a habit to meet up there almost every day. 

“Nah.”  
Taehyung and Jimin shared a confused silence. Jungkook spoke for them. “Huh? You wanna fuck her, don’t you?”  
“Nope.”  
“Can I fuck her?” Jungkook went on, twisting his arms to gain an advantage on the game on his phone.

Jimin leaned forward, “It’s obvious he wants to. Otherwise he wouldn’t have paid for her lunch, eh, big boy?”  
“Shut up.” Namjoon sighed. “I was being nice.”

‘I’ve been where she was too many times.’

“You can’t just be nice to a girl.” Jimin shot back. “She only becomes a factor when you wanna get somethin' from her. Otherwise, they start havin' crushes on you.”  
Taehyung laughed, "Like that bothers you."  
"It does! I don't do commitment." 

The front door opened, and in walked Hoseok with his books in hand. “What’re you guys talking about now?”  
“Namjoon helping some girl out.” Jimin answered.  
Hope’s eyes widened, “Really? That’s… weird, to say the least.”  
“Hey! It’s not the norm.” Namjoon added, thinking it aided in his defense.  
“Well, yeah.”  
“That’s pretty much what we were getting at, babo.”  
“Does he listen?” They all wondered.

“Have those Jagnan idiots been bothering you, Hobi?” Jungkook asked, not looking up from his game.  
Hoseok shook his head, “They haven’t been following me anymore, weirdly enough. But, it could be I don't notice it.”  
“They probably realized they couldn’t get to you like they got to V.” Jungkook replied.  
“They didn’t bother me!” Taehyung protested. “I just… I couldn’t have people following me anymore.” Jimin and Taehyung exchanged knowing looks. 

Namjoon sat up on the couch, leaning on the armrest. “When will Suga and Jin get back?” Hoseok took a seat next to him.  
“Not sure.” The elder replied. 

Bureep-eep.

Jimin took his phone out and stared at the screen, immediately rising from his seat. “I’ll be back. See you guys later.”  
“What’s up?” Taehyung asked.  
Jimin hardly looked back as he threw a duffel bag over his shoulder, and sped out the door. “C’mon, Tae.”  
Taehyung followed close behind and the door shut with a slam. 

Namjoon rolled his head around, not surprised at their sudden exit.  
“Off they go!” Jungkook exclaimed, jerking his phone to the right suddenly, sending his digital car spinning. “Why don’t they ever take us with them?”  
“If they’re going to do what I think they’re doing, I’m glad they left us out.” Namjoon laughed.  
“They’re quite close…” Hoseok said, absentmindedly.

“Yep.” Namjoon grabbed the remote from the other side of the couch. “What’s been going on with you?”  
Hoseok shrugged, “Uni has been predictably stressful.”  
“I coulda told you that,” Jungkook muttered.  
“Why bother go to school when you’re in the Dokkaebi?” Namjoon asked.  
“Why do you go?” Hoseok leaned back on the couch.  
Namjoon shrugged a shoulder, “Habit.”  
*  
Taehyung set his feet up on the dashboard, his arm hanging out the window. “When’s this asshole gonna get here?”  
The two of them had left the hideout for one of their very usual rendezvous in a hurry. They were dressed in casual clothes. The only oddity were the hockey masks covering their faces. 

“Well, no way to know ‘cause someone said we shouldn’t text them.” Jimin spat.  
Taehyung glanced over at him, “Leaving a trail is the stupidest thing we could do, janha. Especially with people we’ve never dealt with.”  
“Yeah, yeah… so don’t ask when this dude’ll get here.” Jimin scrolled through his phone.  
Taehyung saw the inside of his skull, “Anyway.” 

V’s eyes came back down and landed on a white sedan about 400 feet away. He tapped Jimin on the shoulder.  
“They’re here.”  
Jimin put his phone away, grabbed the duffel and stepped out of the car. “Great.”

Two young men stepped out of their car, Jimin instantly noticing the substantial difference in size between the crisply dressed men. The bodyguard was a briefcase-carrying cedar, while his client lived in the shadow. 

“Ah,” the affluent man held his hands out, his sunglasses glinting. “I usually don’t work with referred dealers. I hope to find that you're the real deal.”  
Jimin couldn’t place the man’s face, but the familiarity he felt didn’t go away. “Right. That’s what we do.”  
“And the masks… it feels unreal! What do you call yourselves? I’m always so interested in young men in business.” The sun bouncing off of his cream suit.  
Taehyung refrained from making a comment that could offend the strange man, instead deferring to Jimin for leadership.

Jimin cracked a smile, though inside he was a mix of incredulousness and impatience. “Names are for people who want to be known.”  
The man tilted his head, and seemed to act as if the answer was suitable. “Very well.” He stepped back, and the bodyguard walked to meet Jimin. 

After handing over the duffle bag, the bodyguard placed the handle of the briefcase in Jimin’s hand. They both checked the contents of their respective items, the bodyguard nodding his head satisfactorily after tasting the powder, Jimin burning a bill. The bodyguard eyed the young man strangely, surprised he bothered with the antiquated practice. 

“For good luck.” Jimin said. 

Taehyung walked over, and the two of them counted the money on the hood of the car. When they were done, Jimin shook his head, a smaller pile of money off to the side.

The buyer leaned up against his car, “I’m sure the amount is to your liking.”  
“It’s actually not; 300,000 over.” Jimin replied, picking up the excess money.  
The bodyguard turned to look at his boss, but he gave no order. “Consider it a bonus.”  
“I consider it a loan.” Jimin handed the bodyguard the money. “You asked for an exact amount of product, for an exact amount of money. Nothing less or over.”

“Alright, alright! Aish, kid, you’re way too serious.” Suddenly, he snapped his finger. “I know! You’re holding out. How about half a million? I can get it to you before the day is out.”  
Jimin shook his head, “Nice doin’ business with you.”  
The buyer sighed, “A shame I couldn’t entice you. How about this? You bring me double next week, and I’ll make it worth your while.”  
“Not interested.” Jimin opened the car door, Taehyung already putting the briefcase in a compartment hidden in the trunk. 

Jimin looked over at V, “Let’s get the hell outta here.”  
“Yeah, that dude’s weird as fuck.”

Jimin held his hand on the back of V’s headrest, and looked out the back window as he backed up. Taehyung couldn’t take his eyes off the strange man as he’d taken to waving vigorously at them. “Hope to see you again!” He called.

‘I hope the hell not,’ Taehyung thought. 

Jimin and Taehyung were sitting outside a warehouse, the loud music pouring out from between its steel rafters. They’d arrived at one of the various day parties that’d taken over among his peer group, with one sordid intention. Before Jimin could get to that, Taehyung stopped him.

“We shouldn’t deal with that guy anymore.”  
Jimin leaned back in his seat, “Money is money.”  
“But the people that bring that money can be troublesome.”  
“Mendokusai.” They said, laughing in unison. 

“But, I’m serious!” Taehyung continued. “Something about him was… off.”  
Jimin shrugged, “I’m sure he thought two dudes in hockey masks were off, too.”  
“You don’t get it, do you?” Worry crept through V’s words. “He wore only sunglasses and kept a guard. Offered you more money than you expected. Didn’t bother hide the numbers on his plate.”  
Jimin moved his hands in an annoyed motion, “Okay?”  
“He’s not afraid of being found because he’s got real power.” Taehyung shot back. “All the others dudes we’ve dealt with, weren’t like that. We need to be careful.”

Jimin waved a hand dismissively, “Whatever. Goin’ up or not?”  
Taehyung gave him a sideways look.  
“Fine.” Jimin said, taking out a small container. “I’m fine doing it by myself.” 

He poured some of the powder out onto the flat top and picked up his sniffing tube. As he went, Taehyung did it after him, soon only a small pile remained. Jimin dipped his finger in it and rubbed his gums, and left car, almost shattering the window as he slammed it shut. 

“C’mon!” Jimin yelled, laughing manically.  
Taehyung ran over the hood of the car, jumping onto Jimin’s back. The duo ran towards the side entrance, and into the hall of screams and moans inside.  
*  
Jin sat on the edge of the sizable leather couch, trying his best to act like the cigar smoke and fog machine didn’t bother him. In front of the couch was a large table, a black briefcase placed on top of it. Jin was sure his sweat was still on the handle. Pulsing bass drums matched his rapid heartbeat, but he kept his hands steady and a stoney facade. Usually, he wasn’t so anxious about dropoffs, but today he felt morbid, and couldn’t discern between it being his anxiety or intuition. 

Next to him sat his supervisor, Seo Jaehyuk, and next to him sat the overseer of the entire organization, the Seoul Shiwang, Kwon Byunghoo. The Shiwang was composed of smaller gangs, and all of them reported to Seo Jaehyuk. Jin's outfit, known as the Dokkaebi, was one of the higher achievers in the Shiwang, especially given their ages. It was well known amongst the other groups that the Dokkaebi and Jagnan, another group under the Shiwang umbrella, had a long-running one-sided rivalry. 

Both Jaehyuk and Byunghoo were in the middle of their lives, but still had the ferocity to match Jin's youth and more. He hadn't ever made the mistake of forgetting that. 

“It’s all there then?” Jaehyuk asked, sipping his whiskey.  
Jin nodded slowly, “Yes, sunbae-nim. I counted it myself.”  
“Your group has exceeded expectations from the beginning. Still, I expect the amount to be over by double.” Byunghoo sat with his legs crossed, a cigar lazily hanging between his fingers. “When you set such a high standard, you can’t afford to miss it.”  
“Yes, sajang-nim.” 

‘This couldn’t be over any sooner,’ Jin thought.

Byunghoo snapped his finger, and a young man came to collect the briefcase and disappeared into another room.

“Ah, come on, sajang, Jin has only ever led the Dokkaebi right. That’s more than can be said about some of the other groups.” Jaehyuk swirled the brown liquor around, downing the rest.  
Jin bowed and shook his head, “No, you are too kind, sunbae-nim. It was you who chose the best people for the job.”  
Byunghoo’s bellowing laugh rang out as he stared incredulously at the young leader. “I’d venture to say that humility is a cover for even stronger feelings! Admit it, you think you’re the man.”

Jin’s insides twisted and compressed, “Not at all, sajang-nim.”  
“Sure,” he laughed, taking a breath. He looked over his shoulder and found the young man returning with the briefcase. He whispered into Byunghoo’s ear, and Byunghoo waved him off with an unchanging expression and the young man went back to the counting room. 

‘Why did he come back out and go back in? That never happens… it’s not under is it? It can’t be.’ Jin thought.  
Jaehyuk placed the empty glass on the table with an audible clatter, making it all too obvious he’d had too much to drink.  
“So, Jin-chan!” Jaehyuk laughed. “Did I ever tell you about my trip to Japan?”  
Jin shook his head, “No, sunbae-nim.”

‘Why’s he telling me this? What’s going on?’

“Fucked a girl in every district of Tokyo. It was… amazing.” Jaehyuk bit his lip. “Maybe, you should visit.”  
Jin nodded, “Thank you for the suggestion, sunbae-nim.”  
“Clearly, his vulgarity is an acquired taste.” Byunghoo said. The young man returned and after speaking to the head boss, Byunghoo grunted. “Count it again.”

‘What? There’s no way it’s under; I counted it five fucking times. It was over our expected earnings.’

Jaehyuk glanced over at Jin, sizing him up. All of Jin’s muscles from his neck to his calves tensed, and a sensation of prickly fire shot through his nerves. 

Byunghoo held his cigar in his mouth, “Is there anything you have to be afraid of?”  
“Sajang-nim, I counted the money myself and it’s all there.”  
Byunghoo shrugged, “Could be a miscount, or it could be that you stole from me." His gravelly voice floating casually between his words. "If it’s the latter, I’m sure you’re familiar with the punishment.”  
Jin felt as if the blood in his body was slogging through his arteries, as he’d been a witness to quite a few beatings before. 

“As expected, sajang-nim.” He bowed.

The young man returned and told Byunghoo the same thing. The boss sighed, but Jin cut in.

“Sajang-nim, may I count it in front of you?”

Byunghoo surveyed Jin, staring him in his unblinking eyes. He nodded, “Bring the machine.” When the counter returned with the counting machine, he placed it on the table, with the briefcase. Jin opened it up, and from a quick glance could tell money was missing. He placed the stacks on the metal sensor, and when he was finished counting he found it was 700,000 under.

His brow furrowed, and his blood began to run cold, “This doesn’t make any sense.”  
“Tell Choi to bring his boys here.” Byunghoo commanded.  
The young man nodded, “Yes, sajang-nim.” As he turned, a stack fell out of his pant leg and the world seemed to freeze.

Byunghoo looked from the counter and back to Jin, his smile wide and laugh raucous. “And here I was, going to have you rendered redundant.”  
Jin blinked, his body still in shock. “Yes, sajang-nim.”

Just as the lower-level member started to run, Jaehyuk leapt across the table and held the boy on the ground. The supervisor stood with a foot crushing the side of the young man’s head, ignoring the cries of protest coming from underneath his sole.  
Byunghoo reached into his pocket, and slid an object across the table. “Cut open his pants.”  
Jin triggered the knife’s mechanism, and walked over to the trembling kid. He started from the bottom of his pant leg, and traveled upwards, discovering stacks of money secured around his legs with a mixture of packing and duck tape. After retrieving the rest of the money, he counted it, finding the total was 700,000 over. 

“It’s over, just as you wanted, sajang-nim.”  
Byunghoo nodded, “It’s only right that you take care of this.”  
“I’ll put him in a room for later,” Jaehyuk picked the man up, and carried him off down the hall.  
Byunghoo rose and walked over to Jin, giving him a pat on the shoulder. “It was almost your life on the line. If it were anybody else, I would’ve had you beaten the first time he said it was under.”  
“Thank you for the opportunity to clear my name, sajang-nim.”  
“Bring the money.”  
Jin gathered it and followed after the boss, ‘If he killed me, at least then I’d be free.’  
*  
The sun was beginning to fall out of the sky, most of the partygoers gone or asleep. The music was long gone, but the ambient sounds of birds and whipping winds would creep in from time to time. Jimin and Taehyung were lying on a dingy mattress with a few unconscious girls, though they were concerned with other things.

“I don’t know, dude… I think there’s even better underground parties. On a whole ‘nother level than this busted shit.” Jimin said.  
Taehyung sat up, wiping his face with his discarded shirt. “Janha, but it could get boring after awhile.”  
“Which is why they up the ante!” Jimin laughed, pouring out another line.  
V’s body was rocked with fatigue, “What we’re doing could get Jin hyung in trouble. Jaehyuk-nim would have to punish him…”

They both paused, then their laughs bellowed out.  
Jimin shook his head vigorously, his eyes wide, “Who gives a fuck?”


	3. slave of perception

It’d been a few days into the first school week, and Haneul was at home relishing having the place to herself away from her sister. Nari was at her Japanese culture club meeting, which she’d invited her older sister to, but Haneul backed out. Oddly enough, as much as she wanted to be alone, she wasn’t at ease with the emptiness of the house.

Taking out her phone, she saw a few missed calls from her parents, and dialed them back.

“Ah! Hello, Honny. How’s school?”   
Haneul smiled, “Fine, dad. How’s work? What are you guys researching?”  
“We’ve already signed an agreement, so we can’t tell you, but it’s really something interesting. I haven’t seen something this challenging yet.” Her dad said. “Oh! But how are you liking your class? You’re studying, yes?”  
Haneul stifled a laugh, “Yes, I’m studying hard, appa. Oh! When I was at lunch, I tried to pay for it, but they said my account wasn’t working or something.”  
“Right. We cancelled your account with the school.”  
“Why?”  
“We planned to return before school started, but obviously that didn’t happen. We were going to tell you about your new diet! It was formulated by someone in the lab, to promote cognitive function and it's proven to work. Much better than those pills we had you on.”  
Haneul kept quiet, completely shocked at their candor and control. 

‘My choices aren’t even my own.’ 

“Are you still there, Honny?”  
Haneul shook her head, “Yeah, I’m just thinking about all the schoolwork I have. I’m heading back to study.”  
“Well, good luck!”

Haneul arrived at the school library to find some students sleeping at their tables, but as the door shut behind her, they stirred awake. She looked for a place to sit, more of the mind to distract herself than study, and found a familiar face in the corner. Namjoon was sitting alone, several journals, papers, and books spread out across the table. She found herself noticing the bags under his eyes, the slight sunken look of his cheeks. His fingers gripped his hair in frustration, and he threw a textbook down on the table. He looked around, and found Haneul. He managed a tired smile, and she waved. 

She walked over to his table, “Can I sit here?”  
“Only if you replace my phone.” He laughed at her blank expression, “I’m joking! Damn.”  
Taking a seat, she asked, “What do you do that makes you look so tired?” 

'Is he really dangerous like they said?' 

“Ha, I had to transport something.”  
“You’re a mover? Like, heavy furniture?”  
“Something like that.”  
Haneul tilted her head to the side, “You’re not giving me real answers.”  
“I’m just busy a lot.” Namjoon replied, fidgeting with a pen.  
“I get it. So, what’re you studying?”  
“Everything.” Namjoon yawned. “I don’t have time to do it at home, and I’m already behind on every subject’s homework… so, I do it all here.”   
“You must work a lot.”

Namjoon again dodged her probing, “What are you studying?”  
“Uh, I’m not sure…” she looked around. “There’s a lot of options.”  
Namjoon looked at her strangely, “Well, I was asking because you don’t have your backpack.”  
“Whoops! I forgot it,” Haneul felt something like a volcano erupt under her face, but she didn't externalize her emotions. “That’s so weird, well I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
Namjoon held his hand on his head, “What’s going on?”  
“I couldn’t tell you! I hardly know you.”  
“I’m not gonna tell anybody.”  
Haneul narrowed her eyes, “Well…”  
“I don’t think my friends would give a fuck about it anyway.” Haneul scoffed, and he held his hands up. “I meant that in a nice way.”

“Fine.” She sat back down. “I just… I want to be my own person. I want to exist outside of my family. It’s like that’s all that defines me.”  
“Get a life.”  
“It’s not just so easy to go out and make friends! Why does everybody say that?”  
“Just go up to people in clubs. That’s like the easiest way.”  
Haneul crossed her arms, “That never works out. My name has a reputation here… which is why I don’t have any friends.”  
“Huh?” Namjoon blinked. “I just transferred here this year, so I know nothing about you. Other than you broke my phone.”  
“Funny.”  
“So, what’d you do? Beat somebody up?”  
“I’m not answering that, but it’s hard to make friends because people talk.”

A somber silence fell between them, and their eyes were left to wander. Haneul noticed his phone, the screen so cracked it was a wander he didn’t cut himself every time he used it.  
“Sorry about your phone.”  
“Wait, you don’t think I’m still mad about that, do you?”  
“No, but… it looks really bad.”  
“Oh, well, uh… we’re cool, I guess.”  
“Truce?” She put out her hand.  
Namjoon let out a boisterous laugh, “It’s not that serious! Chill.” Several students hissed at him for his loudness. “Y’all, too.”  
“Shake my hand!”  
Namjoon stared at her, letting out another laugh. “Oh, you’re forreal. Okay.”

She felt the rough and busted callouses of his hands, while he was in awe of how soft she was. Both held each other’s hands a little longer than intended, only breaking when an intrusion distracted them. Pale hands clamped down on Namjoon’s shoulders, shaking him back and forth. 

“Hey, Joonie.”  
Namjoon turned to find his sunbae, “Hey,” he grabbed his hand and brought him in.   
“Oh, who’s this?” He asked, waving. “I’m Suga.”  
“Suga.” Haneul repeated. “I’m Haneul. Do you go to school here?”  
He shook his head, “Nah, the college downtown.”  
“There’s a lot of those down there.”  
“Why do you need to know where I go to school? Tsk, tsk, that nosiness can get you in trouble.”  
Haneul laughed nervously, not knowing how to read him. “Right.”  
“He’s just messing with you.”   
“Yep! We’ve gotta go though, but it was nice to meet you.”   
Namjoon’s brow furrowed, “Huh? Go where?”  
“Yeah, I texted you like a million times. Why didn’t you answer?”  
“My phone’s dead.”  
“Why don’t you charge it?”  
“Not important.” Namjoon said, hastily.   
Suga hoisted Namjoon up, “We’re late, man, c’mon.”

“Will you be here tomorrow?” Namjoon asked, putting his books up.  
Haneul nodded, standing to leave as well, “Yeah… Joonie.”  
“Oh, God.”  
Suga laughed. “What's the matter? It's cute!”  
*  
Jungkook was sitting up against a sturdy concrete wall, boredom swirling inside of him. The rest of the group were inside, waiting for Suga to return with Namjoon. 

‘Aigoo, if he just answered his phone, we wouldn’t still be waiting here,’ he thought. 

“Ah… I know!”

Jungkook’s ears perked up, as he heard the sounds of people arriving. Thinking Namjoon and Suga arrived, he stood up, but his smile soon turned into a scowl when he saw it was Bonhwa and Chung-hee of the Jagnan. The Jagnan were apart of the same organization as the Dokkaebi, but they acted antagonistically whenever possible. 

“Get the fuck out.” Jungkook hissed, balling his fists.  
Bonhwa laughed, “Watch your mouth, jagi.”  
“Fuck off.” Jungkook shot back.  
Chung-hee twirled a nailed bat in his hand, “You should do what he says!” He lunged for Jungkook, but the younger caught the middle of the bat in his hands, a nail ripping into the edge of his palm. He kicked Chung-hee in the stomach, sending him flying back, while the Dokkaebi came running out of the door.

“The hell’s going on?” Jimin yelled.  
Jin separated Jungkook from Chung-hee, pushing Chung-hee off to the side. “We shouldn’t be fighting each other!” Jin jumped back to avoid a punch from Bonhwa. “Didn’t you just hear what I said?”  
“There’s not supposed to be any fighting!” Bonhwa repeated in a high pitched voice. “Nothin’ but a rule follower.”  
“I don’t care.” Jin glared.   
Bonhwa gave Chung-hee a look, and the latter pushed Jin back, almost knocking him onto a broken steel pipe. “Oh?” Rage ran through Jungkook like blood, but Hoseok held him back.  
“Don’t you put your fucking hands on my brother.” Jungkook hissed.  
Chung-hee laughed, “I’ll do worse.”  
“Jungkook, calm down!” Hoseok exclaimed, almost losing his grip on the young man.  
Jungkook lashed out, almost grabbing Chung-hee’s face, and was forced to settle for a few deep scratches. Chung-hee readied his bat, but Jin punched him in his plexus, and picked up the weapon.   
“Leave and I won’t tell Jaehyuk.” Jin threatened, though he never planned to tell the Dokkaebi supervisor in the first place. He didn't want to risk looking out of control.   
“You think Choi gives a fuck about any of this?" Bonhwa scoffed, referencing the Jagnan's supervisor, "You can tell all you want, but I’ll still be around.” 

Jin almost flinched at Choi’s name being brought up, due to yesterday’s events. The money-counter’s face flashed before his eyes.

“Er…” Chung-hee stirred, holding his stomach. A long string of spit falling from his mouth.  
Bonhwa rolled his eyes and nudged Chung-hee, “Let’s just go. Obviously, they’re not in the mood to play.”   
“Fuck ‘em.” Chung-hee mumbled, running off with Bonhwa. 

Jungkook seemed to foam at the mouth, “Why’d you let them go?!”  
“Because we’re not supposed to be—”  
“So?! Fuck following rules. They came up on our spot!” Jungkook barked. “Ugh, I’m so fucking tired of waiting around on them. It’s either we move, or keep getting fucked with.”  
Hoseok looked between the both of them, “He’s right, but what Jin says goes.”  
“You really think we should retaliate?” Jin asked. “They do something worse, and next thing we know, we’re being punished by Jaehyuk and Choi. I’m not fucking interested.”

Jungkook shook his head, “I’m not talking about that kiddie shit, I mean we do something to them that’ll keep them from hitting back.”  
“I said no.” Jin replied.   
“Fuck Byunghoo-nim.” Jungkook hissed. “We need to do something about this. I’m tired of dealing with them!”  
“C’mon, he’s right!” Jimin said. “It’s been five years now. They hurt Jungkook; don’t you care about that?”  
Jin shrugged, “It’s not up for discussion.”  
“But, Jin!” Taehyung whined. “Kookie has a point.”  
Jin looked between the two of them and walked off, back to the front. He’d lost the urge to continue their argument. 

The sound of a car pulling up alerted the Dokkaebi, and they only stood down when they saw Suga and Namjoon step out of the vehicle. Suga instantly felt the tension, while Namjoon merely existed in it; he’d been through worse. 

“What the hell happened?” Suga asked.  
Jungkook licked his bottom lip in annoyance, “Bonhwa and Chung-hee fucking came around again, and of course, Leader Jin won’t do anything about it.”   
“Those assholes?” Namjoon sighed. “It’s best to ignore ‘em. They want your reaction the most.”  
“Even you don’t wanna do anything?!” Jungkook exclaimed. “They’ve been fucking with us for years!”  
Namjoon shrugged, “Bigger things to worry about.” As he looked around, his eyes fell onto Jin's shirt; dashes of red stains were found throughout.

'Wonder what he's been doing,' Namjoon thought. 

“Man, whatever.” Jungkook grumbled, walking back inside. 

“So,” Namjoon leaned up against the car, “we going to Daegu now? Can’t wait to see the stock they’ve shipped in.”  
Suga got in the back seat, “Yep, but I’m not driving. Leader Jin, take the lead.”  
“Daegu isn’t that long of a drive, Suga.” Jin laughed.   
Suga locked the door and put his feet up on the front row’s console. “To you.”  
“Hope, would you mind?” Jin asked, holding open the driver side door.   
Hoseok shrugged, “Sure.”  
Jungkook reappeared with a bandage around his hand, and stood next to V.

“Ah, it’s been a long time since I’ve been out of this city!” Namjoon chimed. “Can’t wait to get outta here.”

Another vehicle appeared and drove down the uneven street, until it came to a stop beside Namjoon. Tense, he saw the midnight tint and realized it was a senior paying them a visit. He still didn’t relax. 

The door opened and out stepped Jaehyuk, in a seemingly fresh grey suit, but the more Namjoon stared, he found small red specks at home in the fabric. 

'No bruises on him or Jin. What're they getting up to?' Namjoon thought.

Jaehyuk threw his arms out with a wide smile, though his eyes were lifeless. “Good afternoon, everyone! I can see you’re headed out somewhere.”  
“To Daegu, sunbaenim.” Jin bowed, the rest of the gang following suit. Internally, Jin’s stomach was in a jumbled frenzy, unsure of whether or not Jaehyuk was there for him. 

“So, Namjoon,” Jaehyuk adjusted his sunglasses, “we’re going to go for a ride.”  
Namjoon felt his heart drop, but he maintained a cool facade. “Yes, sunbaenim.” 

Jaehyuk sat back down and Namjoon walked around to the other side, reluctantly getting in. The car started up, and Namjoon’s hopes of being with his brothers were dashed yet again.  
He didn’t have a long time to feel sorry for himself though. Jaehyuk hit him on the back of the head.   
“Why’ve you been avoiding my calls?”  
Namjoon stared at his shoes, “My phone’s dead.”  
“Then charge it.”  
“I can’t at the moment… because I can’t afford a charger.” He mumbled.  
Jaehyuk scoffed, “That’s too bad, but it’s also not my problem. You know you’re supposed to be available at all times.”  
“I’m deeply sorry, sunbaenim.”  
“Whatever. I’ve got something else for you to do, though. Don’t look too sad about not going to Daegu.”  
‘It’s probably money collecting, again,’ Namjoon thought.

“You’re gonna be house security tonight.” Jaehyuk scrolled through his phone, and showed him the website. “Heaven9. Try not to touch the girls, okay? The other guys don't know how to act, and I’m sick of hearing them complain to me about that.”  
Namjoon bowed, “Thank you for the opportunity, sunbaenim.”   
Jaehyuk waved off the formality, “Yeah, yeah.”

It was deep in the night, and Namjoon had already fought several guys off of the girls. He wasn’t exhausted, in fact he didn’t feel anything. He was quite familiar with getting the grunt work and doing the jobs not even new members would be given. It was the inherited consequence of his father’s betrayal to the Shiwang he alone had to shoulder. It didn’t bother him anymore. 

As it were, Namjoon flopped down on a plush couch in the middle of the room, purposefully ignoring the sounds of satisfied customers that attempted to fill his ears. He picked up a magazine and lazily flipped through it. 

‘Aish, I’m so fucking bored.’ 

“You look like you could use one of these.”   
Namjoon looked up to find Jiyoo, one of the waitresses, carrying a shot of vodka. “Thank you! It's been a boring night.”  
“I snuck it away when I saw how many guys had come down here.” She glanced at door six, and saw the wood buck rhythmically. “I can only imagine doing this job sober.”  
Namjoon laughed after downing the alcohol, “Don’t you have the same thing upstairs? Just my luck the whorehouse is hidden.”  
“Eh, it’s not so bad up there. Most guys get thrown out after spending a certain amount anyway.”  
“Of course.”  
“But, it’s kinda busy for us tonight. I’m not sure what’s going on.”  
Namjoon put the glass back on her tray, “Well, come get me if anything turns bad up there, alright? I know how they can be.”  
“Definitely.” Jiyoo smiled.   
Namjoon and Jiyoo joined fingers, and spun around while they held their hands over their head. “See you around.”  
“Bye-bye.” Jiyoo disappeared up into the club above.

Namjoon sunk back into the couch, and no sooner than he’d done that, screaming came from one of the rooms. He rushed over towards room nine, and found a man holding a fistful of red hair. He pushed her head down, and held the side of her face. Grabbing the patron by the collar of his jacket, he knocked him in the face, and tossed him out of the room. 

"Hey! Get your hands off of me!" The drunken man slurred, wavering from side to side.   
Namjoon knocked him down once more, with a kick to the leg and dragged him towards the back door. "You won't get a second chance! Don't come back." After he tossed him out, he slammed the door shut, and it locked with an ominous clank. 

'Aish,' he held his shoulder, and rolled his neck around, 'it's taking a toll on me.'   
Namjoon sighed, and returned to the main atrium, finding the shaken up woman sitting upright on one of the various plush couches.

“Cherry,” he crouched down next to her, “you okay?”   
Cherry shook her head, “I hate those fucking pigs, I hate this fucking job, and I hate the fucking idiot that runs this place.”  
“I’m sorry…” he managed.  
Cherry looked at him for a long while, the action making Namjoon uncomfortable. 

“I shouldn’t be saying those things to you, you’re just a kid. What could you know?”  
Namjoon furrowed his brow, “It doesn't take age to tell that guy was a dickhead. Is he a regular?"  
“No, but regulars get rough, too." Cherry mumbled.  
Namjoon blinked, "Hey, tell me when that happens, alright?"  
"If you chased down all my regulars, I wouldn't have a pot to piss in, would I?" Cherry shook her head slowly. "Besides, the rumors are that johns are turning up dead all over. I think it's bad drugs, but business has slowed because they think it's us setting them up. I can't have you scaring off potential customers, either."  
"That's scary, but whatever you say, Cherry." Namjoon grumbled. "I'm stopping whatever bullshit I see, though."  
Cherry's face scrunched up, "Why?"  
Namjoon looked at her as if she should know the answer, “Because guys are fucking assholes.”

Cherry pinched his cheek, “Wow, you're the first person to come to that conclusion."  
He rolled his eyes playfully, and the laugh it elicited seemed to illuminate the room. As he stood, he said, "I'll be up at the bar, alright? You want me to get you anything?"  
Cherry shook her head, vigorously. “Nope, and if you get me anything I’ll return it.”  
“Fine.”

'These kinda places never seem to change,' he thought. 

Namjoon headed up the stairs faster than expected, as the vodka had already been shocked out of his system. Brothels and clubs weren't the kind of environments where he was comfortable being sober. At least that's what he told himself. Drinking was the only thing able to drown out the old memories of being dragged along to his mother's job. He wouldn't ever forget the perfumed room where her corpse was found. 

As he approached the bar, the main bartender leaned on the counter. “By my count, that was patron number 12?”  
“Ha. You're a little under.”  
“I bet! So, what’ll it be?”  
“Eh, something strong.”  
The bartender stood up, “You sure?”  
“Kon... now's not the time to hold back the dark liquor.” Namjoon held his head on his hand. "Fill it to the top."  
“Suit yourself.” He filled a shot glass with whiskey, holding the ice, and slid it towards the youth. He watched in horror and amazement as Namjoon downed the liquor. “Uh, wow.”  
Namjoon lazily reached into his pocket, “How much do I owe you?”  
“You don’t.” Kon turned and put the bottle up. “It’s on the house.”  
“Thanks, man.” Namjoon mumbled, the whiskey invading his muscles. 

He made his way back down the stairs to find Cherry sitting in his spot. She handed him a thick wad of cash. “This is for you.”  
“I can’t, Cherry noona.”  
She hit him on the side of his head, “Babo! You can’t afford to not take this.” The door to the club opened up again, and she heard a client jog down the steps. “Well, I’ve gotta get back to work.”  
“Thanks.”  
“Whatever.”

‘I can finally get a new phone charger,’ he thought. 'Maybe a new phone.'

The john acknowledged Namjoon and headed into Cherry’s room. The youth flopped back onto the couch, burying his face into the magazine, until he saw a photo of a caged bird. A few lines of prose formed in his head, and before he knew it, he’d strung together a verse.  
*  
“Honny!” Nari ran through the family room in search of her older sister, kirigami in hand. She found her looking out of a window, as if Nari didn’t exist. “What’s wrong…?”  
Haneul stood up, “Wanderlust.”  
“Oh! I can understand.” Nari smiled.  
“Eh, maybe not. What’s that?” Haneul pointed at the paper creation hanging from Nari’s fingers.  
Nari held it up, “A kirigami I made, at the Japanese culture club meeting! It’s two tigers, one for me, and the other for you.”  
“It’s so sweet,” Haneul said, wrapping her in a hug.

‘That’s so annoying. Why does everything have to be me and her, all the time?” Haneul thought. 

“I’m glad you like it!”

'Yeah, I'm sure you do.'


	4. invasive greed

The precinct’s energy had slowed to a sluggish pace, officers heading home for the night, and their captains not far behind them. Only a few investigators stayed behind to catch up on work they’d let pile up, and another lucky officer was given more paperwork.

“Interested in a missing kid?” He tossed a manilla folder on her desk, and leaned back in his chair. “You’re gonna have to be.”  
Her head dropped, “Seriously? I thought you didn’t leave until next week.”  
“You’ve been saying that for the past two. Soon as I clock out, I’ve got a date with my couch and TV.”  
“Hmph. Says here he’s 17… Gu Jong-min, student at Seoul Central…” she turned the page, “he doesn’t have a record. Why’re you thinking this is something criminal?”  
He stared at her flatly, “A cursory search showed he comes from a pretty normal family. I highly doubt he ran away.”  
“He could’ve.” Bora shrugged. “I’ll head to the school tomorrow. Chae-ku, try not to have too much fun on your vacation.”  
He stood up, throwing his jacket on, “Oh, I will.”  
*  
Though Haneul was usually focused on her studies, she couldn’t help but be distracted by the rumors of a cop questioning students that swirled around the class. 

She’d asked Namjoon about it.  
“Yeah, it’s true. Even my friends were questioned, but of course they don’t know anything about it.”  
“Huh? What do you mean by ‘of course’?”   
Namjoon’s eyebrows raised, “Eh? It’s just something I said.”

Haneul surveyed him, wondering if he was all there mentally, as he looked even more exhausted than a few days ago. “You haven’t gotten any sleep, have you?”  
“I’m always busy.”

(9:34am) Nana: omonaaa did you hear about the missing kid? That’s really really creepy  
(9:34am) Nana: people say hes not the type to runaway either  
(9:36am) Haneul: did you know him?  
(9:40am) Nana: no its what other people are saying  
(11:50am) Nana: hey I’m gonna eat lunch with my friends from the jculture club ok?  
(11:52am) Haneul: hope you have fun!

‘Why am I bothered by that?’ Haneul thought.

“Hey.” Haneul tapped him on the shoulder.  
Namjoon looked up, “Yeah?”  
“Do you wanna eat together?”  
“Oh, finally taking me up on my offer?”  
Haneul laughed, “Why not?”

“Soooo, your phone’s back on.”  
Namjoon looked up, “Oh, yeah.”  
“That means it works.”  
“…yeah?”  
Haneul sighed, “Ask me for my number.”  
Namjoon’s eyes widened comically, “Oh! Uh, well…” his face resembled a rose field as he struggled to do as she’d asked. He meant to ask earlier on, but he wasn’t sure how to read her mood. After he’d put her number in, the rest of his friends showed up.

Taehyung clamped his hands down on Namjoon’s shoulders, “Hey, oppa!”  
Jimin and Taehyung sat down on either side of her, but Jungkook pushed Jimin out of the way, “Oh, you’re that girl from the mall.” The way Jungkook's wide eyes studied her, Haneul felt more like an exhibit than a person. “She Namjoon’s?” He asked, digging into his food.  
Haneul scoffed, “I’m not property, asshole.”  
“Oh, feisty!” Jungkook exclaimed.   
“Dude, stop. She’s a friend.” Namjoon cut in.   
Jungkook rolled his head around, “I'm just messin' around.”

“Did y’all hear about the policewoman stalking the halls?” Jimin asked.  
Taehyung laughed, “She hardly bothered with you.”  
“I told her I didn’t know anything!”  
Jungkook twirled his chopsticks around, “I told Jin and Sugie Suge about it, and they said it’s under control.”  
Taehyung hit Jungkook and motioned towards Haneul, whose complete attention was now on Jungkook.

Namjoon rolled his eyes and put his spoon down.  
“Do you know where the kid went?” She asked.  
Jungkook shrugged, “I don’t know. Maybe we helped him run away. Fuck’s it matter to you?”  
Haneul shook her head, and looked at Namjoon, “Your friends are assholes. See you later.”

Namjoon leaned his head on his hand as Haneul left. After she was out of sight, he hit Jungkook over the head. “Why the hell would you talk about that in front of her?”  
“I didn’t mean to!” Jungkook exclaimed, lowering his head. “Besides, if she’s hanging with you, she must know what you do.”  
“I didn’t tell her about the gang.” Namjoon replied.  
Jungkook tilted his head to the side, “Oh. Well, how was I supposed to know that?”

Jimin finished swallowing a mouthful of rice, “Fuck all that. What did Jin say?”  
“They both said we don’t need to worry about anything.” Jungkook said. "That's it."  
Namjoon’s eyebrows knit together, “They must be involved with the situation."  
“How do you think they’re connected?” Taehyung asked.  
"Dunno," Namjoon shrugged, “But they’ve gotta know. Otherwise, why bother saying something like that?”  
“It must not matter that much if they aren’t telling us anything.” Jimin said.  
“Or it could be the opposite. Not like we’ve ever gotten in trouble before, but they might not wanna put eyes on us." Namjoon held his chin. "Jin's always been good about making Jaehyuk happy."  
Jungkook nodded, "And if Jaehyuk's happy, Byunghoo's happy."  
Jimin laughed, “Listen to you two. Going on and on like girls."  
“I’m serious." Namjoon sighed.

“I doubt it’s that important.” Jimin messed around with his food. “Sometimes, shit really isn’t worth worrying about.”

“But, if it were, Jin wouldn’t let us get in trouble.” Jungkook said.  
Taehyung nodded, “He’s loyal.”  
Jungkook turned towards Jimin, “What does loyalty mean to you?”  
“Doing whatever for the greater good of yourself.” Jimin rattled off.   
Jungkook’s eyebrows knit together, “That’s a pretty self-centered view, hyung.”  
“Look at it this way,” Jimin started. “Jin wants to stay in good standing with Byunghoo, so he makes sure he’s doing well, which in turn trickles down to us. It’s simple.”   
“Well, you guys can figure out loyalty, I’ll see you later.” Namjoon stood up and walked out of the cafeteria.  
Jimin ribbed Taehyung, "Going after your good girl?"  
"Yeah, what about it?" Namjoon laughed.   
*  
Haneul was seated at a table in a common area; far off away from everyone else with the window being her only source of company. After noticing Namjoon's presence, her eyes reduced to slits.  
He started first, “I honestly don’t know anything about what Jungkook was saying.”  
“Your friend does. Why hasn’t he reported it?”

'While I doubt they actually made that kid disappear, Namjoon hangs out with some weird people,' she thought. 

Namjoon shrugged, “It really could be as simple as he ran away.”  
“Doubt it.”

As she’d said that, everything inside of her was uncertain about Namjoon. She couldn't discern if that uncertainty was a reason to turn away, or understand him deeper. But he was certainly a change from her ordered and planned out life. It would have to do.

“Listen, there’s nothing to worry about when it comes to me and my friends, but they can be a little rough around the edges.” Namjoon laughed.  
“I see.” Haneul responded. “That seems to be underselling it.”  
“Maybe.” He agreed. “But, I love ‘em anyway.”  
*  
“Hwang Nari.” 

The stern voice rattled her bones, but she stood up and confidently walked towards the door. As she went, Junghwan waved and she smiled back.

Jimin sat up, wondering what their interaction was about and leaned across the aisle.  
“What do you know about her?”  
Junghwan looked at his friends and snickered, “That she’s for everybody.”  
“Tsk,” he sucked his teeth, “then what’s that make you for messing with her?”   
Junghwan huffed and turned back around.

“If anything, whores are more fun.” Jimin said.  
Taehyung hit Jimin on the shoulder, “No.”  
“She’s cute! Why not?”  
“Duri was cute, too.”  
“It’s not even like that.” Jimin laughed. 

Outside, Nari watched the investigator scribble something on a notepad and found she held a certain sort of intrigue that the young girl couldn't place.

'Have I seen her before?' Nari thought. When she caught a glimpse of her face, the feeling only strengthened, 'Why does she seem so familiar? It's almost like nostalgia.' 

The investigator hardly looked at Nari briefly as they walked to a defunct classroom and sat down at a table. “I’m Investigator Song Bora… and I’ll be asking you a few questions.”

Bora had sleek black hair tied back in a ponytail, and perfectly applied gloss filled her lips. Nari was entranced by the cream color of her suit, and wondered what autelier she’d bought it from. 

“So, Hwang Nari…” Bora mumbled. After she finished writing the name down, she looked up and instantly did a double take. “Nari?”  
Nari blinked, her hands traveling to the top of her hair, “Hm? Is there something on my head?”  
“Nothing.” Bora readjusted herself, straightening her suit jacket. “So, did you know Gu Jong-min?”  
“No.” Nari shook her head.  
“Have you seen him? What is it…” Bora stared at Nari a little longer than she’d meant to, “um, what is it you’ve heard about his disappearance, if anything at all?”  
Nari shrugged, “I haven't seen him. Some people were saying he wasn’t the type to run away. I heard he wanted to become a director.”  
“I’ve heard similar.” Bora tapped her pen on the notepad. "Did you know of any girls he was interested in, or vice versa?"  
Nari looked up and to the side, "No, but he seemed so quiet, it's hard to imagine any girl liking him."

The detective held the pen to her mouth, her eyes narrowing. Nari thought the investigator was searching in between her words, but Bora was busy trying to figure out the solution to a different problem in her head.

Nari leaned forward and dropped her voice. "Is it true he was found in one of those brothels?"

The question shook the cop out of her thoughts, but she didn't show that she was startled. 

'A detail like that getting out just confirms my suspicions that someone at this school was involved with his murder.' Bora thought. 

Bora put her pen down, and took a card out of her wallet. “I’ll need you to come down to the station to take a DNA test to eliminate you from our current pool.”  
“Uh,” Nari started fidgeting with the hem of her jacket, “alright.”  
“Don’t be worried!" The uptick in Bora's voice told Nari otherwise, "If you’ve done nothing wrong, it’ll only eliminate you from further questioning.”  
Nari nodded, “Right.” She took the officer’s card and after being dismissed, headed back to class.

After walking through the door, she passed by Junghwan’s seat, but saw he was ignoring her.   
The guy next to him waved, “Hey, I’m Jimin.”  
“I’m Nari.”  
*  
Jin was finished with his classes after a long, worrisome day, and headed out to meet up with Jaehyuk at a restaurant in Gangnam. He could tell by the furnishings it was an especially expensive eatery, but Jaehyuk waved it off as the expense of entertaining a friend. 

“Talk quickly. He’ll be here soon.” Jaehyuk sipped his cappuccino, and started typing on his phone.   
Jin nodded, “Well, a cop has been questioning students at Seoul Central about the money counter—”  
Jaehyuk stopped typing on his phone, “The one you handled a few days ago?”  
“Yes, sunbaenim.” Jin's blood turned to lead.  
“Alright, continue.”   
“From what I understand, she doesn’t have much to go off of, but I'm worried about a cop being at that school.”  
Jaehyuk scrolled aimlessly on his phone, and took a sip from his drink. “She?”  
“Yes, her name’s Song Bora.” 

Jaehyuk choked on his drink, and soon regained composure.  
“Are you alright, sunbaenim?”  
“Yeah, whatever.” Jaehyuk mumbled, wiping his eyes. Jin noticed his elder looked as if he’d seen a ghost. “Treat this incident as any other. It’s nothing to worry about. ”  
Jin nodded, “Yes, sunbaenim.” 

‘What about that cop has him so shaken up?’ Jin thought. 

“Ah, who’s this handsome thing?”   
Jin looked up to see a tall man dressed in a cream suit, noticing he still kept his sunglasses on. “Kim Seokjin.”  
“Yi Junseo.” He replied, shaking his hand. “Are you busy, Jaehyuk?”  
“No, no.” Jaehyuk replied, still typing away on his phone. “Jin, this is the political liaison for the Shiwang. He works quite closely with the mayor’s office.”  
“Nice to meet you,” Jin bowed. He didn't allow the shock of meeting such an important member to show on his face, though he wondered why he was present at this meeting. It was rare for him to be around senior members outside of Jaehyuk and the big boss.

Junseo laughed, “He’s cute! But there’s no need to be so formal. We are criminals, after all.”  
“There’s still a necessity for respect and chain of command.” Jaehyuk retorted.  
“Ah, and I haven’t found one use for it, Jaehyuk-nim.”   
Jaehyuk grunted, and looked up at Jin. “Usually, I wouldn’t bother introduce you to people, least of all him, but Byunghoo has expressed his desire to give you more responsibility.”

‘The last thing I want.’ Jin thought.

“Hm.” Junseo clapped. “Old Byunghoo must be impressed.”  
“I assure you, I am only doing the best I can.” Jin replied.  
Junseo laughed, “You just don’t stop do you?”  
“It was nice meeting you, though, but I’ve got to—”

Junseo held a hand up, “It might behoove you to hear what I have to say. On the slim chance that I can trust you…” he looked Jin up and down. “You don’t look like the two idiots I encountered, so, yes, sit.”  
Jaehyuk put his phone down, “Is this what you wanted to talk about?”  
“Yes and no. There’s other things I need to discuss with you. The most important thing for you to know is, I encountered raw Shiwang product out in the wild.”

Jin narrowed his eyes, unsure of what he’d just heard. “That’s a dumb move.”  
“I agree.”   
Jaehyuk shook his head, “You figure out the dumbfucks that went rogue? How’d you even come to know this?”  
“Byunghoo gave me the order after he’d gotten wind of a drop being underweight. So, he told me to pick up some product from a referred vendor, as I’d happened to be in the area.” Junseo flagged down a waiter, “A mocha, please. Anyway, it was the funniest thing! The referred vendors were two kids wearing hockey masks. They couldn’t be more than 5’10 each.”

‘That’s why he was sizing me up.’ Jin thought.

“I took the product to Byunghoo, and he identified it as his own.”  
Jaehyuk grunted, “We need to find out what gang it came from. Have you checked last week’s storage?”  
“That’s not possible as it’s all been distributed. However, I figure they’ve done it once, they’ll do it again. This time, we’ll catch them.”  
Jin bit his lip, “You could put some sort of identifier in the packages unique to each of the different gangs. That way we know who’s doing it.”  
“Sounds easy enough. When’s this week’s shipment getting in?”  
“Later today.” Jaehyuk yawned. “I’ll have one of the lackeys do it.”  
“You keep using that head of yours, and you’ll find yourself in Jaehyuk’s position in no time.” Junseo smirked.  
Jaehyuk cut his eyes over to the liaison, “Watch it.”  
“Well,” Junseo took his drink, “I’ve other business to discuss, but it was nice meeting you Kim Seokjin. Hopefully, the next time we meet, we'll have figured out who’s trying to pull one over on old Byunghoo.”  
Jin bowed, “Yes, sunbaenim.”

“So adorable, yet so stiff.” Junseo’s comment floated on the wind as Jin made his way out of the restaurant. He pulled out his phone and group-called the members. “Meet me at the hangout as soon as possible.”

The only members missing from the meeting were Namjoon and Jungkook, which Jin found weird but he didn’t think they were involved in anything malicious.   
“Make sure you catch them up on what we talk about here.” Jin said, speaking to those who showed up.  
Hoseok raised a hand, “Yeah, I’ll tell ‘em.” 

“So, before we get started…” Jin glanced over at Suga’s purple and red face, lines of blood weaving in between his contusions, “what happened to you?”  
Suga licked his teeth in frustration. “Just get the meeting over with.”  
“Well, I found out that someone’s been stealing and selling Shiwang product as their own. There’s a new system in place to figure out who’s done it, and I’d hate to be whoever who gets caught. I’ve decided that until further notice, Suga and I will be conducting the drops.”  
Hoseok furrowed his brow, “What idiot would do that?”  
“Beyond me.” Suga mumbled.

Taehyung quickly checked Jimin’s face for any sign of nervousness, but he found a placid expression.   
“They were wearing hockey masks.” Jin held his hands behind his head. “That type of thing falls right in line with the Jagnan.”  
Taehyung held his hands together, “Hockey masks? That’s bizarre.”  
“They must really like Jason.” Jimin laughed. “Hope those assholes get what’s coming to ‘em.”

“Don’t tell Jungkook I think it’s the Jagnan. He’s already got it out for them as it is.” Jin commanded.  
Suga shrugged, “So? Maybe, he’s got the right idea. It was those assholes who jumped me.”  
“Wait. When did this happen?!” Hoseok stood up.   
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Taehyung asked.  
Suga waved them off, “It’s not important. All I’m saying is, Jungkook might be on to something.”

“Where’d it happen?” Hoseok pressed.  
Suga clenched his jaw, “Leave it alone.”  
“But they hurt you.”  
“Hobi, shut up.”  
Jin looked over at his co-captain, inwardly cringing at the sight of him. "It's best to leave it alone, Hoseok."  
Hoseok looked incredulously from Jin to Suga, but didn't find merit in arguing with them. "Yeah, okay."

Instead, he called Jungkook and put him on speaker. “I’m doing something important, can’t talk.”  
“What’re you talking about?” Hoseok asked, but Jungkook hung up.  
Jin shook his head, “I can tell that'll only be trouble.”  
“It should be mandatory he comes to the hangout right after school.” Hoseok suggested.  
Suga threw his hands up, “What are you? His mom?”  
“You got a better idea to make sure we’re all here?”

“Both of you quiet down.” Jin scratched his head. “Tae, call Namjoon.”   
“Uh, sure…” he took out his phone, but it went to voicemail. “Welp.”  
“He’s probably fucking that girl he was with at lunch.” Jimin laughed. 

Jin gave Jimin a look, then turned to Suga. “Don't even think of retaliating.”  
“I never said I was, asshole. What's it matter to you anyway?” Suga spat.  
“You’re sure it was them?” Jin went on.  
Suga glared at him, “I saw their faces. I’m sick of putting up with their shit. You can do whatever you want, but I’m hitting ‘em back.”  
“We can’t sink to their lev—”  
“Fuck the rules!”  
Jin shrugged, an air of rigid apathy encircling him, “Regardless of how you feel, that’s the way it is. We didn't get to this position swatting every fly.”  
“Man, fuck off.” Suga stood up and stormed off, slamming the door behind him.

“That was productive.” Hoseok commented. “I’ll see you guys later.”  
Jin walked off into another room, and shut the door behind him. ‘This is the last thing I want to be doing and the last place I want to be... but I’m fucking stuck with these assholes. Might as well make the best of it.’  
*  
Various textbooks were piled up on one side of the cafe table, various empty drink glasses scattered about, but the books had been untouched since they were put down on the table a few hours ago. Namjoon and Haneul found talking to each other more interesting than their studies. 

“That’s so weird!” Haneul exclaimed. “I’ve never heard of putting sprinkles inside of ice cream.”  
“It’s pretty good, you should try it.” Namjoon picked up on her expression, “Or we should try it, at the fair?”  
Haneul cocked an eyebrow, “Are you asking me or telling me?”  
“Go with me to the fair.”   
Haneul almost wilted under the intensity of his gaze, “When is it?”  
“A couple weeks from now.”  
“I’ll have to see.”  
“Come on!” He laughed.   
“Yeah, I’ll go.”

Haneul found herself staring at him, but he didn't seem to mind. "So, what's your biggest aspiration?"  
"You go first." Namjoon stretched back, exposing his lower stomach.  
Haneul's eyes focused on the area, and she noticed Namjoon turn red. "Well, I want to live life on my own terms... I don't want to be what everyone wants me to be."  
"That's a bit vague, yeah? People usually talk about a career choice."  
Haneul shrugged, "Whatever I do, I'll be great at. I've thought of everything from financial advisor, to fashion editor."  
His eyes widened a bit, but then they returned to their normal state. "I was surprised, then I remembered you're a rich girl."  
"I'm not rich." Haneul's brow furrowed. "And that's not the point. Tell me your dream!"  
Namjoon's eyes looked around the room, "I mean... I always wanted to do music, since I was a kid. Life got in the way, though."  
"What's that mean?"  
"Life got in the way." He put his hand out and shrugged.

Haneul sighed, and twirled the straw around in her half-empty macchiato, "You're so closed off."  
"No, I'm not. I'll talk about anything but that."  
Haneul's eyes widened incredulously, "You just proved my point!" After taking a few sips, she said, "It must've been something scary, huh?"  
He shook his head slowly, "Nobody's promised a perfect life."

The silence that seeped into their conversation grew thicker with each passing moment. Her eyes wandered over to the stack of textbooks, while his own studied the colorful tile of the cafe. Haneul glanced over at Namjoon, wondering what nightmare of a past he must've come from to be so reticent.

'No wonder he's always around those guys,' Haneul thought. 

"Can I get you two some refills?" The waitress asked.  
Haneul slightly jumped out of her daze, "Uh, yeah, please."   
"I'm good." Namjoon replied, reaching for a textbook. He cracked it open and leaned on the table.   
"Comin' right up!" The waitress collected the empty glasses, and went on her way.

"I guess that's why you and your friends are close."  
Namjoon didn't look up from his book, his eyes burning slightly, "They're really all I have."  
"Hm." Haneul mumbled, not sure what to say. 

She noticed he brought the book closer to his face, almost as if to hide it. Haneul could still see the tears that spilled over, no matter how hard he tried to hide.


	5. ties that bind

He'd started following them the night before. He'd taken his uncle's car, because it was the only one available. The Jagnan’s daily schedule entailed going back and forth between the Seoul Shiwang HQ and nightclubs around the area. The HQ was easy enough for Jungkook to blend in at, since he was a member of the organization he never looked out of place. Following them to the nightclubs was harder, as there weren't many places for him to hide out on the street in the middle of the day. He'd almost gotten caught when his phone went off.

Without looking at the caller ID, he answered, "I'm doing something important, can't talk."   
Hope's concerned voice poured through the speaker, "What are you talking about?"  
After hanging up, Jungkook ran further down the alleyway he was currently hiding out in, and jumped in a dumpster, his back getting soaked by days old takeout.

'Ugh,' Jungkook thought. 

Hurried footsteps immediately followed after.  
"Did you hear that?" Chung-hee asked.  
Bonhwa looked around, "Yeah, it was a cellphone going off. I don't see anything, though. Could be a junkie."  
"Yeah. It's probably nothin' to worry about." Chung-hee reached into his pocket, and read a text message. "Hey. I've got good neeeews!"  
Bonhwa punched him playfully in the shoulder, "Who's that?"  
He put his phone away. "Some bitch named Duri. Said she knows we don't fuck with the DKB," as soon as Chung-hee referenced Jungkook's gang, his nerves were on fire, "and since she don't either, she’s gonna help us out. I’ve been talkin' to her for the past couple days. Finally got something I can use."

'Duri’s texting them? What a spiteful bitch,' Jungkook thought. 

"Play nice with her, for now." Bonhwa said. "You never know when we'll be able to use her again."  
Chung-hee shook his head, "If this all goes well, there won't be a next time for those fuckheads."  
"Wait. What are you trying to do?"  
Chung-hee looked at Bonhwa like he was an idiot, "Uh, fuck 'em up? I'm tired of playing second best to those idiots. If we take them out, that leaves Byunghoo with no choice but to promote us."  
"How serious are we talking?"

"Listen. Don't worry about all that." Chung-hee replied. 

Bonhwa narrowed his eyes, "Murder ain't something I'm cool with."  
"I'm not dumb! They'll be roughed up, but alive. The only thing I'm focused on is getting them out of the way." Chung-hee rolled his eyes. "You worry too much."  
Bonhwa kissed his teeth, "Whatever you're doing, leave it for next week. Too much has already happened."  
"I wanna do it tonight." Chung-hee said.   
Bonhwa glared at Chung-hee, "Don't let this be something stupid. Let's talk about it first."  
"You'll see it won't be," Chung-hee laughed.   
“Shut up.” Bonhwa hit Chung-hee on the back of the head, and started walking out of the alley. "Come on, it's time we get to the next club."

'They're trying to tear us apart... they're trying to tear us apart...' Jungkook's mind was racing, 'I can't let that happen, they're my brothers! But I can handle this. I don't want Jin to have anything else to worry about.'

Jungkook waited until he heard their car start up, and he hopped out of the dumpster, rotten bits of vegetables falling off of his leg. Jungkook made sure they were out of sight by the time he got to the end of the alley, and jogged down to his car. After slipping in, he drove off quickly down the road and headed back home.

The faint noise of a variety show traveled through the door, but Jungkook already knew the strong smell of liquor would greet him as soon as he walked in. 

'I thought he'd be asleep by now,' Jungkook thought. He shook off his annoyance, and opened the apartment door.

The room was lit up from the light of the TV, curtains drawn over all the windows, and the smell of burnt food in the stove permeated the air. Jungkook's uncle sat on the couch a few feet away, half-watching one of his usual shows.

"Eh?" His uncle turned around, downing the last drop of a beer. "Why're you home so late?"  
Jungkook shut his eyes in frustration, throwing the door shut behind him. "It's like 6, samchon. It's not that late."  
"Whatever." Hyeon shrugged, turning back to the TV. "You bring my car back in one piece?"  
"Yeah." Jungkook mumbled, walking over to the stove. It was still turned on and Jungkook guessed that his drunken uncle had started to cook something, and forgot to turn it off.   
Hyeon yawned, and his bottle clattered to the floor. "Good. I'm going out to get somethin' to drink."  
Jungkook grimaced, taking out the burned remnants of whatever food Hyeon had tried to cook. "That's okay, samchon. You shouldn't be driving right now... I'll get it for you. You like Red Rock, right?"  
"That's my boy," Hyeon laughed, lying down on a pillow. "I'll pay you back."  
Jungkook tossed out the burned food and turned off the oven. "I know, samchon. I'll be back later, okay?"  
"Mhm..." Hyeon said, drifting off.

Jungkook sighed and walked to his dim room; he always left the curtains covering his window. His uncle was a functioning drunk for the most part, and like most addicts he was completely selfish. The positives Jungkook found were that his uncle let him use his car occasionally, and always made sure to pay him back for the beer Jungkook bought. He didn't mind their relationship being as distant as he was, the only thing that bothered him was seeing how vulnerable his uncle was when he got drunk. 

"Aish," Jungkook yawned, falling back on his bed. His eyes searched the ceiling, and slowly began to shut. He jolted awake, and sat up, "Wait... I can't sleep yet." 

He sluggishly opened his nightstand drawer, a headache forming as he went. 

'Loyalty... Jimin thinks it’s all about himself... he's always been so selfish,' Jungkook thought, 'but loyalty's about making sure everyone around you is alright. And that's what I'm gonna do.' 

He shuffled the old papers around, and his hand landed on heavy metal. He picked up the gun and began dismantling it. 

(12:45pm) jimin: hey where are you  
(12:55pm) Jungkook: dont worry! ill see you guys later  
(12:56pm) jimin: let us know when youll disappear sometimes  
(12:59pm) Jungkook: sorry hyung. i dont mean to worry anyone  
(1:00pm) jimin: yeah yeah

Jungkook pulled out a small case and started cleaning the gun, "There's nothing to worry about."  
*  
On the way to class, Haneul found herself getting lost in the daily daze of students milling to and fro. The more she watched, the more it seemed everything blurred together; the blues of their school jackets forming a solid line, the faces that all seemed to carry anxious emptiness. She was knocked from her stupor when she heard her sister's name.

A younger guy was looking at his friends mischievously, "Nari... I heard she was passed around to Jimin."  
Another girl giggled, "Jimin? He's cute, but he's a total dick. We'll know what her pussy looks like before he's done with her."  
A girl with pigtails scoffed, "It won't take Jimin for that to happen. I saw her nudes a few weeks ago after school started. She was the one Junghwan was messing with last year."  
The young guy's mouth dropped. "What?! Is she the one who got the abortion?"   
"Yeah! I remember hearing her parents fled the country in shame!" 

'Those assholes.' Haneul saw red.

Haneul's blood felt like lava rushing through her arteries, "Shut the fuck up about my sister!"

The group of gossipers stared at her, shocked and gawking, and dissipated as quickly as they could manage. Haneul drew attention she didn't want, so she headed off to class, shooting glares at people who dared look at her disapprovingly. 

Haneul was outside her class door when she texted Nari.

(7:55am) Haneul: be careful around jimin. he seems shady  
(7:57am) Nana: youre one to talk considering youre talking to namjoon. EVERYONE knows hes a weirdo

Haneul shook her head at her sisters insolence, as it felt all too familiar. However, it felt different this time, considering a part of her knew Nari was right. 

She slipped into class and to her surprise, there was Namjoon bright and early working on homework he hadn't finished the night before. He glanced up at her and winked, but she didn't budge.

"Why're you so upset?"   
Haneul started taking out her books, "Don't worry about it."   
*  
"It's obvious they know it was us who stole the coke, right down to the masks," Taehyung said, his nerves more heightened than usual, due to the lines he and Jimin had done before lunch. He'd been searching any sign of sincerity or seriousness in Jimin's face, but the young man's eyes were ever carefree.   
Jimin didn't respond verbally or physically, instead he continued scrolling through Instagram, and ate his rice.   
"I told you there was something off about that guy," Taehyung continued. "He's obviously affiliated with our group to know that we sold Shiwang coke back to him."  
"Okay? I'm not really worried. There's too much money to be made to be gettin' scared now. We'll just be smarter." Jimin replied.   
Taehyung pushed Jimin's shoulder, "The new system is going to link it back to us, for sure. Stop acting so fuckin' cocky!"  
"It's too early for them to have put that system into place," Jimin said. "I doubt they've spread it through all packages by now."  
Taehyung frowned, "I'm not so sure. Jin told us because he trusts us. Maybe we should stop."

Jimin made a disgusted noise, "Ugh, since you're such a damn crybaby we'll steal someone else's product and pass it off as our own. Happy?"  
"It's a better idea..." Taehyung mumbled.  
"Okay then. Stop bitching." 

In the midst of the tension brewing between Taehyung and Jimin, Haneul and Namjoon sat at their table. Haneul was expecting to see the boisterous Jungkook, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. 

"Hey." Namjoon waved. "Where's Kookie?"  
Taehyung leaned back, "I haven't seen him since Daegu."  
"He's probably out on one of his benders." Namjoon sighed. "Wish he'd get it together."  
Haneul looked from each of them, then back at Namjoon, "He drinks?"  
"Like a fish. Don't let him tell it, though. He'd make you believe he's a saint." Namjoon laughed.   
"Sounds like he does those often." Haneul added.  
Jimin's face darkened with a look Haneul couldn't decipher. On his end, he started texting Jungkook, "Often enough."

(12:45pm) jimin: hey where are you

'I've never seen him so civil,' Haneul thought.

She was disrupted from her thoughts, when she felt a hard tapping on her shoulder.   
"Hey. Let's talk."  
Haneul looked up to see Nari, and the familiar beast she thought she'd left behind at their old school had come back in her eyes, her demeanor; Nari hadn’t learned to stop chasing after bad guys. Nari's previously black hair was dyed light brown with blonde highlights, and her cherry gloss seemed to drip off of her lips. Haneul didn't have to turn around to know Jimin was salivating. 

Haneul was surprised to see the new look on her younger sister, as she had successfully evaded her so well over the past few days that she'd only heard evidence of her existence, instead of seen it; when she would come in the apartment late at night or when she'd use the bathroom to get changed and go out again.

'She's back,' Haneul thought. 'I thought changing schools would knock some sense into her. Now she's reverted to being an airhead.' 

"What do you want?" Haneul moaned, following her sister to an area away from the boys.  
Nari narrowed her eyes, "I can be interested in Jimin, just like you're into Namjoon. Stop fucking judging me! You're no better than I am."  
"I wasn't judging you, Nari," Haneul stood with an arm akimbo. "I was warning you. I'd heard things about him."  
"Yeah, and I've heard things about you! How you and Namjoon hang out after school everyday. I wonder what you could be doing..." Nari sneered.  
Haneul blinked, blasé as ever. "Not even you're that gullible."  
"I just hate how hypocritical you are." Nari went on. "Scolding me, like you're my parent, but you're doing the same thing. It's pathetic."  
"What's pathetic is my parents adopted you and didn't have the sense to give you back." Haneul hissed.  
Nari's eyes widened, and something like a gasp escaped her mouth. "You're so fucking evil!" 

Haneul didn't bother to stick around to watch her storm off, and headed back over to Namjoon's table.

"Catfight, huh?" Jimin taunted.   
Haneul smirked, "Hardly."  
"I mean, it's normal for sisters to do that, though, right?" Jimin probed. "You two've grown up competing for anything from attention to gifts. It must be so hard."  
"Stop it, man." Namjoon warned.  
"I'm not concerned with her," Haneul shrugged.   
"But she's your sister," Jimin grinned.  
Haneul sipped her tea, "There’s no love lost."

Jimin burst out into laughter, ribbing Taehyung, "It'd be amazing if they were twins!"  
"Jimin, shut the fuck up for once." Namjoon growled.  
Jimin settled down, and clenched his jaw, "I was only joking, hyung."

"Ignore him. He's only happy when he's pissed people off." Namjoon said.  
Haneul poked out her lips, "I could tell."  
"Well, I'm gonna go catch up with your baby sis, Honny," Jimin snorted at Haneul's grimace. "See you later."

Jimin swung his legs over the bench and left his tray, heading out of the lunch room.  
Taehyung watched as he went, then turned back around. "He means well, y'know?"  
"Sounds like you're in denial, if you think that asshole can be anything other than rude." Haneul twirled her spoon around.   
"Well, he's my bro, so that's all that matters." Taehyung sniffed, rubbing his nose. "Everyone has that family member they don't like, but still take up for. Like you with your sister."  
"Eh, is it really the same?" Haneul laughed.

She turned towards Namjoon, but he was too focused on Taehyung.   
"Allergies?" Namjoon asked.  
Taehyung looked up, still scratching his nose, "No, it's just dry skin. It's gotten worse 'cause I don't moisturize, janha."   
"Ah, the pollen is everywhere outside. I get it." 

Haneul hadn't known Namjoon too long, but she could tell he was suspicious of his friend. She didn't want to inquire further, as it was exhausting enough dealing with her sister and Jimin. 

"Wanna go somewhere after school?" Namjoon asked, oblivious to Taehyung scrolling on his phone.  
Haneul spirit perked up, "Yeah! What'd you have in mind?"  
"The park, or somethin'..." Namjoon mumbled. He heaved a long sigh, "I just wanna get away for a bit."  
Haneul found she couldn't take her eyes away from his, "I can relate."


	6. molting

"Beauty and the Beast is my favorite," Haneul kicked a rock out of her path. "I loved how strong Belle was."  
Namjoon tilted his head, "That's a great one, but Sleeping Beauty's better."  
"Why? The prince was a creep who kissed a sleeping girl." Haneul laughed. "That's so gross."  
"His kiss woke her up!" Namjoon nudged her playfully. "Learn to live a little."  
"Ew."  
Namjoon gave her a sideways look, "Your favorite princess fucked a wildebeest, and you're saying Sleeping Beauty is bad?"  
Haneul looked around slowly, then back at him, "Yes."  
"Okay. You're a lost cause." Namjoon spotted a bench, and grabbed her hand. Haneul's skin seemed to prickle at the touch, but she didn't pull away.

"This actually isn't as bad as I thought it could be," Haneul mused. "Going to a park and all."  
Namjoon gave an approving look, "Anywhere can be fun, with people you like."

'Do I like him?' Haneul thought.

"Yeah..." she muttered.

The emerald trees seemed to reach for the clouds, and stretched out in all directions. Butterflies and birds flew past, both occupying their own worlds to create something wholly serene. Even the air, when it whipped passed her ears, felt like the song of nature. She wondered if the outdoors were particularly beautiful that day, or if it was Namjoon beside her.

"So, what's going on with you and your sister?" Namjoon sipped his water. "I've heard some things about what went on at your old school."  
Haneul snapped out of her daydream, "What've you heard?"  
"I found out Nari's got some nudes floatin' around, and someone got pregnant." Namjoon's words seemed more careful than usual. "How old is the baby now?"  
"It's dead." Haneul's callous tone of voice made Namjoon sit up. "The situation was a little deeper than a few photos and a baby. I guess that's depending on who you ask."  
"I'm asking you. What happened?"

"She met some asshole named Junghwan, who now goes to our school, and he ended up spreading her photos around. She had sex with him, which I could give a fuck about, but she..." Haneul's breath hitched, but she steeled her gaze. "She fucked my ex-boyfriend, and got pregnant. I don't know by who. I tried to get my parents to force her to get a DNA test... it was a shortsighted reaction in anger. They made her get rid of it." 

Haneul bit her lip, "My parents were so upset they took a residency at a lab in a different country. We saw them on and off for a few months after, then during break, they were at work for good. I got a car out of it, but they don't give a damn anymore.

They told me that I was their good child, that I always made the right decisions and made them happy. I think they told me that because they didn't know how to deal with me in regards to the situation." Haneul shrugged.

Namjoon leaned back, folding his arms, "Yeah, I mean they gave you a car." He looked over at her, "While they forced your sister into an abortion."  
"I never asked her how she felt about that." Haneul looked up at a bird circling the sky. "We all acted like it never happened. Of course, Nari probably hates that."  
"She also slept with your boyfriend, so..."  
"My mind always went back to that, too." Haneul shut her eyes. "I didn't know how to look at the situation, so I chose not to. I really am my parents' child."  
"Honestly, I'm surprised you even hang around her."

Haneul raised her eyebrows, "I thought she'd changed, and I felt bad for her because she didn't have any friends. I didn’t have any friends either after all that happened, but then they weren’t really friends, huh."   
"Your parents check in on you two at all?"  
"Rarely. They're distant and controlling. They cancelled my school lunch account because they wanted to put me on a diet to promote cognitive function." Haneul noticed Namjoon's flabbergasted expression, "It's all pretty dysfunctional, isn't it?"  
He nodded slowly, "Yeah, and bizarre as hell."

Namjoon put his water down on the ground, feeling regret creep up his shoulders. "Look, uh... I'm sorry for makin' it seem like you had it easy because you're rich."  
"Appreciate it. " Haneul rested her head on the bench, looking up at the sky. "And I'm not rich."  
Namjoon rolled his head around with a sly smile, "Okay."

"Anyway, you ever gonna show me your music?"  
Namjoon's face flooded with red, "Eh, not just yet."  
"I'd love to hear it!" Haneul chimed. "But, I'll hear it when it's ready."  
*  
Smooth sounds pulsed through the speakers, low enough so Jimin could give her the words to hang off of. He leaned on the window, staring at her with low lidded eyes as she fumbled in the passenger seat. He could tell she was eating it all up, as women were always so easy to read.

"Aw, don't be so shy, jagi," Jimin teased, holding her chin. He scrutinized her for a moment, "Though next time... nevermind."  
Nari's puppy-like eyes filled with worry, "Wait, what? What is it?"  
"Next time choose a lip gloss that won't get all over my car." Jimin watched as her head fell down. "I'll buy you one, if that makes it better."  
Nari's head shot up, and she smiled, "Yeah, I'd like that." She looked out to the city skyline, the sun was starting to fall out of the sky. "How'd you find out about a spot like this?"

'He's... been kinda mean to me since we got outta school,' Nari thought, 'but, maybe that's just his personality.' 

"I used to come down here a lot, when I was younger." Jimin left out that it was in the drunken and lascivious company of his old friends. "We'd have parties, and just waste time."  
Nari nodded slowly, "Right... sounds like fun."

'Sounds boring, really,' Nari's mind wandering off.

Jimin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag and flicked it with his fingers.  
"You ever tried this before?"  
Nari's body stiffened, "Uh... no. No, I've never done that."

'Should I? I mean, I like him, but I don't know him that well,' Nari went back and forth in her head. The warning words of her sister came back into her head. 'What does she know? He's not that bad.'

"I've done it before," Jimin opened the bag and took a pill out. "All it does is make you feel good. Don't you want to feel good?" His hand by this time had traveled down her chest, gripping the flesh underneath.   
Nari's breath hitched and her face drowned in red, "Uh, alright."  
Jimin reached for another pill, and placed it in her mouth. "That's a good girl."

Nari's brow furrowed, wondering what would happen next. Every movement she made felt heightened beyond her imagination. Her mind going in and out of a frenzy. Jimin would whisper things to her, but she didn’t care what they were; she couldn't even think straight. Flashes of the past flew by her and Junghwan’s cocky look took over her mind. 

Jimin didn’t understand what had gotten into her, but he didn’t mind. The last thing she felt was a barrage of fluttering kisses crawling up her neck, and a sensation like fire rippling up her stomach. He started to worry about the girl wrapped around his neck, but she didn’t seem too concerned. 

A look of obsession seemed painted on her face. 

The last thing she heard was the word: hate.  
*  
Chest, caving in and out. Sweat drenching everything from clothes, hair, neck. His eyes wouldn't close, and the nausea drifted in and out like waves. Hoseok dialed Suga frantically, dropping the phone several times because of how slippery his palms were.

"Hello?! Call me back, please, I can't calm down," Hoseok tried to take a deep breath, but it only went halfway through. "I can't calm down! Call me back, please." 

Just as he hung up, he got a phone call from Jungkook.  
"What?"  
Jungkook was taken aback, "You alright, hyung?"  
"Yes, yes! What do you want?" Hoseok grit his teeth, and started his counting exercise.   
"Stay inside tonight. I don't want you to get hurt," the line clicked. 

Hoseok slid down the bathroom stall. "I don't wanna go in today..." He wiped the sweat from his face, "But if I don't, these only get worse."

Knock, knock.

"Hoseok? Are you ready to come in, or do you need more time?" His therapist's voice was a welcome noise.  
Hoseok wiped his face repeatedly with his shirt, "Yeah, I'll be out."  
"Alright."

Hoseok stood up and opened the door, and another to get into his therapist's office. The room was cozy and always dark, either by a thunderstorm obscuring the sun, or his doctor purposefully drawing back the curtains to make Hoseok feel at home. There was a large brown angeloise lamp next to Hoseok's favorite chair, it always gave off a warm bath of light he felt at ease in. His therapist sat on the other side of the room on a gray chaise lounge, a clipboard in hand and deep wrinkles set in Dr. Jai-bong's forehead. 

After taking a seat, Hoseok adjusted the lamp. 

'I didn't want to be back here so soon,' Hoseok thought.

"So, how've you been lately?" Jai-bong asked.  
Hoseok held his hands on his face, "Not good. I don't know how to handle it all anymore... but honestly, if I'm back here so soon, I don't think I was doing well at all."  
"You don't think you've made any sort of progress?"  
He shook his head, "Nope. I look at it like this; days without the attacks and anxiety and days wondering when they're gonna come back. It never leaves."  
"Have you been taking your medication?"  
"What's the point?" Hoseok asked. "They only work for the first few weeks, then it's like I'm taking a placebo! I'm over it."

Jai-bong tilted his head. "Have you implemented the coping strategies we discussed from our last meeting?"  
Hoseok made a so-so hand motion. "Sometimes. Mostly, I just call a friend, or the number thing."  
"How'd you like the tactile methods?"  
"The stress ball won't go back to its original shape..."

Jai-bong put down his clipboard, and held his hands on his knee. "Is it the same thing as last time?"  
Hoseok didn't move for what seemed like an eternity, then he broke down. "Yeah! It's all so cyclical, when's it gonna stop? For as long as I've remembered, I've had these feelings. I stopped attempting suicide because I don't think I could go through with it... what if I fail? I'd be even more miserable."  
"It sounds like you're surviving, not living. Keeping those feelings to yourself is hurting you. How do your friends feel? You've said the friend you call has helped you."

Hoseok wiped his eyes, "He's the only one I talk to. I don't talk to him that often, either, because I feel like I'm burdening him. Like I'm bringing him down."  
"Well, if he's your friend, he's meant to be there for you. He's suppo--"

Ping. Ping.

(6:20pm) jungkoook: hey come over to jimins were heading to a party s

Hoseok felt a chill wash down from the top of his head. "I've gotta go."  
"Something come up?"  
"Yeah." Hoseok stood up, unease taking home in his stomach. It didn't feel like his usual anxiety. 

"So, same time next week?"  
Hoseok nodded, heading for the door, "Yeah, I'll see you later, doc."  
*  
Jungkook drove over to Jimin's about an hour before he texted Hoseok, and now him, Taehyung, and Jimin all lounged around in the main room. The background noise supplied by the TV reminded Jungkook of his uncle's drunken listlessness. On the ottoman was Jungkook's backpack, but the only things inside of it were a change of clothes and a gun. He hadn't slept in a few days, but he convinced himself he was fine. 

"Hey!" Taehyung exclaimed, slapping his hands down on the sofa next to Jungkook, shocking him back awake.  
Jungkook sat up, "What's up, what's up?"  
"Man, you look like shit." Taehyung mouth agape. "Where you been lately?"  
"Don't worry about it." Jungkook yawned, fixing his pillow. "I'm good."  
Jimin scoffed, "Bullshit."

"When's your family getting back?" Jungkook asked.  
Jimin continued scrolling on his phone, "Few days. Fuck that though, I was with Nari earlier."  
"Oh!" Jungkook's eyes shot open. "The new girl? What was she like?"  
Jimin grinned, "Let's just say I had to get her under control."

‘She really freaked me out. I’ve never seen that before,’ Jimin thought, a shiver running up his spine.

"Aish, it was that rough, huh?" Taehyung asked. "She didn't seem like the wild type."  
"I always turn 'em out that way... sooner or later," Jimin laughed.  
Jimin's loose demeanor told Jungkook he was high, and he figured Taehyung was, too, because they never did anything alone. Their dependency on each other had grown stronger and more toxic, but only Jungkook had seemed to notice. 

"Kookie-ah, you want some?" Jimin looked over at him, holding up a bag. "It's goood."  
Jungkook waved a hand, "I'll take some at the party."

The doorbell rang and Taehyung ran to get it. When he returned, Hoseok was with him.

"You'll fall asleep before we get there." Jimin pressed, tossing it at him. "Take some."  
"Whatever," Jungkook yawned, heading towards the bathroom.

"Hey, guys," Hoseok said, flopping down on the couch.  
Jimin smiled, "Hobi! What've you been up to?"  
"Nothin' really. What's this party about?" Hoseok asked.  
"I wanna know, too." Taehyung nodded. "I'm over those pop-ups at those warehouses."  
Jungkook laughed, looking back at Taehyung, "Warehouse parties? Only druggies go to those."

"It's a masquerade, and it cost a bit to get in," Jimin said. "It's not indicative of quality, but the demographic."  
"How much?" Taehyung asked, flipping through TV channels.  
"5,000 each." Jimin replied.  
Jungkook's eyes were reduced to slits, "What?"  
Hoseok tilted his head, "That's a bit much, man."  
"Omona," Taehyung was taken aback. "That's a bit pricey, dude."

'Where'd he get that kinda money?' Jungkook thought. 

"I have a feeling it'll be worth it!" Jimin exclaimed. "I've never been to a real masquerade."  
Jungkook walked out of the bathroom, "This party sounds weird, but I'm down. Where the masks at?"  
"Here," Jimin tossed them the masks. Two of them were hockey masks and the other was a Pagliacci.

Taehyung's heart dropped when he saw the hockey masks, and he looked over at Jimin. He took the stylized animal mask and headed towards the kitchen.   
"These are so weird!" Taehyung laughed. "Where'd you get these from?"   
Jimin shrugged, "Found 'em at some costume stores down—," a noisy commotion was heard, "the fuck was that?"  
"Shit, bro, come tell me if your parents'll be mad about this..." Taehyung said.  
Jimin rolled his eyes and got up from his seat, and went to the kitchen.

"Are we both supposed to be Jason?" Hoseok asked, looking at the mask.  
Jungkook shrugged, "I think we'd make good serial killers." 

"What'd you break?" Jimin asked, looking around on the tiled floors.  
Taehyung glared at Jimin, "Those masks are ours. What the fuck are you doing?"  
"Relax." Jimin held his hands up. "I didn't feel like buying new ones."  
Taehyung shook his head, "I don't know what you're getting at, but giving them those masks isn't right."  
"What's up with you? You paranoid?" Jimin put his hands in his pockets. "Think about it. It's a masquerade. People are going to be wearing masks, and the hockey mask is a popular one. They're not going to be the only ones wearing it."  
Taehyung's muscles relaxed, but a part of him still wasn't convinced. "I don't know, it seems risky."

"Maybe you should lay off the coke for a bit, yeah?" Jimin frowned. "You're starting to worry me. I've never seen you act so suspicious or scared. Tell me, are you really alright?"  
Taehyung stepped back, "I'm not going crazy..."  
"I didn't say you were. See? It's gotta be the coke." Jimin threw his hands up. "You never used to act like this. I didn't wanna say anything, but you've been concerning me for awhile. I should've told you earlier."  
Taehyung shook his head, "What the fuck are you talking about? I'm fine."  
"Are you? You're paranoid that two hockey masks is going to make a difference at this party... where people wear all sorts of masks..."

Taehyung hesitated, then caved, "Sorry, man. I was... I was out of it. They're just masks."  
"Exactly." Jimin filled a glass with water and handed it to him.

"By the way, how'd you get an invite to this party?"  
Jimin leaned on the makrana countertop, "A client."  
"You met with that guy again!" Taehyung hissed.   
Jimin shrugged, "So, what if I did? I used the Jagnan's supply when I went to pick up ours. So, it'll go back to them, if anything."  
Taehyung didn't know what to think, and he put the glass down. "Be careful, Jimin. Why didn't you tell me?"  
"'Cause I was by myself when I went to drop off the weekly supply to the clubs. Don't worry about it. Everything's fine, okay?" Jimin headed back to the main room. "You guys ready to head out?"

"Hell yeah!" Jungkook sprung up, his pupils almost overtaking the brown in his eyes.  
Hoseok laughed, "You might wanna calm down. We're not even there yet."  
"Hey, hey! Let him be excited!" Jimin jested, rubbing Jungkook's shoulders.  
Taehyung hardly glanced at Jimin, "Whose car are we taking?"  
"Let's take mine, I just got gas before I got here." Hoseok said.  
"Perfect!" Jungkook's movement caused Hoseok to step back in fright. "You taking anything?"  
Hoseok shook his head, "I'll see what they have there."

"I hope you two have a lot of fun," Jimin smiled, throwing his arms out. "You guys especially deserve it."


	7. et tu?

‘I knew these hockey masks Jimin gave us were gonna make us stand out,’ Jungkook thought. 

In front of him was a sea of Venetian faces, covered in gold and porcelain applique. It made Jungkook and Hoseok stick out like a sore thumb. A sense of unbelonging began to stick to the walls of his mind, and the whiskey shots he took in succession only helped so much. He slipped through the crowd towards the back, trying to find somewhere to decompress. 

He felt delayed and heavy, the past couple of days spent without sleep were starting to affect him. His mind convinced him that everyone was out to get him, even his friends. The latter thought not surviving long in his head, because what he planned to do was too passionate to let such insecure thoughts thrive.

“Hey! You with the weird mask,” a girl stepped in front of Jungkook. “Wanna have some fun?”  
Jungkook grabbed her hand, “Sure. What do you have?”  
“What does it matter? I asked if you wanted to have fun, maybe I’ll give you something if you’re nice.”  
Jungkook shrugged her off, “Not interested.”   
“Fine. Whatever.”

Jungkook’s headache throbbed with his heart rate, making him stop in his tracks more than a few times to recollect himself. What was he doing here? He had something more important he had to be doing, as the heavy metal in his belt strap reminded him. Jimin was a partier, and so was Taehyung, but tonight couldn’t have been a more inconvenient time. Jungkook hadn’t ever seriously contemplated on murder, but if it meant keeping all of them from harm, keeping all of them together he’d do it. 

He’d do anything to avoid being alone.   
*  
Hoseok was sprawled out on the ground, surrounded by a group of girls and the only thing they had on was their masks. He’d already had more than enough to drink, and did a few lines off of one of their bodies only a few minutes earlier. His head was swirling, and consciousness seemed to come in waves; pushed and pulled out of a sense of ease. This time he could ignore it, seem bigger than it. Stuff the problems down and out of sight. His mind wasn’t empty, but it felt good to be out of control. 

“Aw, I wanna turn!” A girl grabbed inside of his pants, and her eyes popped open. “Mm, seems like you’re ready for me, huh?”  
Hoseok chuckled, his eyes rolling around in his head. “Do whatever you want.” He heard the whines of protest from a girl at his feet, “Well, come here.” She walked over to him and he grabbed her legs, lowering her down onto his face. “I’ll make you feel better,” he gestured to the other girls and they all joined in. “See? We can all have fun!” 

The demons that wailed in his head day and night were quieted, and he felt as if he could do anything. That’s where the sadness took hold of him, in a few hours this sense of comfort would disappear, replaced by a constant worry of one’s worth and efforts, and the wonder of how to regain the confidence experienced under the influence of liquid courage and a few stimulants. Soon, the inside of his mouth had gone dry, and his hands began to sweat. His body rigid, he found himself fading out of the false idea of confidence he’d gained at the beginning of the evening, and he found himself wishing he was anywhere else but there.   
*  
Every party was a journey, and he got lost in the mix everytime. Something about being able to be someone else whenever he wanted, and disappearing was alluring. In the short span of time he spent away from Jimin, he was something unknown to himself, unaffected by his friend’s dominating personality. Though, he was never away from him long enough to think for himself. 

Taehyung looked around at the party from his lonesome space in a deserted hallway, confused about what Jimin wanted to accomplish by taking them all out. Jimin was known for being selfish, sure, but he also inherited his parents’ love of treating others to lavish dinners and events, so the gang always had expensive dinners to look forward to when he wasn’t being a complete dick. 

However, getting tickets to the party made Taehyung feel uneasy. Why would Jimin continue to associate with that weird guy at a time where missing drugs was the topic of the week? He didn’t want to think too much longer on it, for the possibilities were grim.

“You look like the strong, silent type. What’s your story?”   
Taehyung looked over and saw a man with a rabbit mask. “I’m not interested in telling it.”

‘There’s nothing interesting to say,’ Taehyung thought. 

“Sometimes that dark and broody attitude gets old.”  
Taehyung shrugged, “You bothered me.”  
“I thought you were interesting.” A beat passed. “Or just not as drunk as the guys in the other room.”  
“What other room?”  
Jun-seo laughed, “You didn’t know the kinds of things that go on here? Is this your first affair?”  
“Yeah, I thought I would try something new. What’s so special about this party outside of sex? If that’s all that’s to it, it’s pretty mundane.”  
Jun-seo made a so-so motion, “It’s more the people you meet here. Everyone has something to lose, so anonymity is key.”  
“How easy is it to lift up someone’s mask?”   
Jun-seo chuckled, “You’d only do that if you were low-rate trash.”

“Eh, maybe.” Taehyung laughed.   
Jun-seo took a vial out of his pocket, “Care to do a line with me?” He sprinkled two little stripes of powder onto the back of his hand.  
“I’ve done worse,” Taehyung lifted his mask up a little, snorting the line in tandem with his newfound acquaintance.   
Jun-seo smirked, “Look over here.”  
“Huh?”

Jun-seo grabbed Taehyung by the chin, and their lips collided with a fury. Taehyung felt a rush in his blood, and a feeling hotter than the sun fight to get out of his chest. Taehyung found himself gripping any part of Jun-seo’s back that he could, but Jun-seo pulled away as soon as he did. 

“There’s a room,”Jun-seo motioned with his head, “just down there.”  
Taehyung blinked, “W-what about it?”   
Jun-seo laughed, and played with Taehyung’s lips, “You’re adorable.” 

Prring prring. Prring prring. 

Jun-seo reached for his phone and stepped back, “Everything alright?” 

Taehyung was left in a state of shock so deep it seemed as if the coke had left his system. He stared at the rabbit-masked man in wonder and confusion about the warm feeling in his chest. 

‘Why does he make me feel this way?’ Taehyung thought. 

“Hockey masks… yeah, yeah… you found ‘em?” Jun-seo’s voice lowered and he walked further down the hallway. 

‘What’s he asking about them for? Hockey masks…?’ Taehyung thought, narrowing his eyes. 

Before long, Jun-seo returned with his mask back on, his flexed arms and rigid gait spelling to Taehyung a bit of trouble was going on.

“I’ll have to take a raincheck. See you s—”  
Taehyung panicked.

“You’re leaving?” 

Jun-seo tilted his head in a curious manner, and stopped in his tracks, “I’ve got some things to attend to…” he looked Taehyung up and down, then took a card out of his wallet. “If you’re serious, you can reach me here.” 

Taehyung took the card and stood in a silent stupor as he watched the rabbit-masked man walk away. What was it about that man that stirred up something so deep in him? He was scared at the notion of finding out, but for once he wasn’t pretending to be someone else. At least that’s a start.   
*  
Jimin found himself in an unusual predicament; he was scared. He who so often walked around with his chest puffed out, was afraid and confused. He was off and out of touch ever since his experience with Nari in the car. Before, he saw her as something to have fun, something to control. He never imagined that inside of her was a cavern of sorrow, that the past was still knocking at her door. She was still carrying that weight. 

“Hey! I was talking to you!” 

Jimin was snapped from his inner world, “Huh? What?” He looked over at the girl, and sat up on the couch. “Yeah, as you were saying?”  
“Ugh, you’re a jackass.” She stood up and stumbled away, but Jimin didn’t pay her any mind. He mindlessly stroked Hoseok’s car key, biting the inside of his cheek. 

‘I can’t get that moment out of my head… what a fucked up girl.’ Jimin thought. 

He shook his head vigorously and slapped his face, ‘Keep it going, man. You’re here to see this through.’

Pangs of guilt shot through his soul, but he drowned out his conscience with another shot of whisky carried around by the help. Bringing Hoseok and Jungkook to the party was what had to be done, and for Taehyung Jimin wanted to reward him with a good time, ‘The dumbass deserves it.’

Jimin headed towards the front entrance, and pulled out his phone. “Tae? Yeah, it’s time to go. Where are you?”  
“I’m around. Why’re we leaving so early? We haven’t been here an hour.” Taehyung replied.   
Jimin felt a tinge of sadness in his voice, but he didn’t inquire about it. “I’m tired of being here. Wasn’t as interesting as I thought. I’ll be outside.”  
“Yeah… sure. I’ll call the others.”  
Jimin furrowed his brow, “I already did. We’re all outside, just hurry up.”  
“Uh… okay? Calm down. I’ll see you.” The line dropped.

“Asshole,” Jimin grumbled.   
*  
Jungkook was surrounded by a group of girls intrigued at his odd choice of mask. All of them sprawled out on a large couch near the back of the event hall, by the bar. He was in between a state of paranoia and malaise, but the drinks the girls continued to supply him helped to quell his mind. 

“You look like a serial killer!” A girl laughed, instinctively covering her masked mouth.   
“Yeah, what made you wear that?”  
Jungkook shrugged, “A friend gave it to me.”  
“Some friend.” A girl replied.

“So, you’re the asshole who’s been stealing from the Shiwang!” 

‘What the hell…?’ Jungkook thought. 

Jungkook’s ears perked up at the mention of his gang’s family. He didn’t have to look around for who it came from, as the man in the rabbit-mask charged him. The crowd of girls dispersed from around him, while Jungkook thrashed to get the man off of him.

“You’ll regret stealing those drugs, dickhead. Show me your fucking face!” Jun-seo yelled, ripping off the mask.   
Jungkook grabbed at his face, but he was too slow as the mask was already off. 

The assailant’s body relaxed, “Jungkook?” 

Jungkook stared in shock, unsure of why this guy attacked him, who he was, and why he thought he stole and re-sold drugs. His chest tightened and it felt as if his whole body seized up; countless incoherent thoughts ran through his mind. Something about his voice rang familiar, but in his heightened state of mind, he couldn’t hazard a guess. 

“Get the fuck off of me!” He took advantage of the rabbit-masked man’s moment of confusion, and kicked him off. Jungkook scrambled to his feet and ran through the crowd, pushing anyone out of his way that he could. Not realizing Jimin was at the entrance, he pushed him to the side in an effort to escape.   
‘What the fuck was that? What the fuck was that?!’ Jungkook’s inner monologue continued to circulate through his head, panicking him. 

He pulled out his phone and called Hoseok, “Hey! Dude, get the fuck out here— we gotta go!”   
“Huh? Why are you screa—” Jungkook hung up and dialed Taehyung as he was running, “Hyung, I don’t know what…” Jungkook tried to catch his breath, “the fuck is going on, but we have to go!”  
“What? Jimin told me you all were outside.” Taehyung responded. “What the hell? Where are you?”   
Jungkook grit his teeth, and ducked into an alleyway, “I don’t know what’s going on! Some guy attacked me, he took off my mask, and said I was the one who stole drugs from the Shiwang. I didn’t do that, man!”   
“...That’s insane. I know you didn’t do that, Kookie. Just calm down. We’ll come get you alright?”  
“Please, hurry up, hyung!” Jungkook cried, looking over his shoulder. “I don’t know what the fuck’s going on!”


	8. todestrieb

“Dude, just… just calm the fuck down.” Jimin groaned. “Someone get him a bottle of water.” 

Taehyung shook his head, unsure of what to say. Jungkook had been confronted as the person who stole the drugs, and he didn’t want to resolve Jimin’s lies and inconsistencies. He soured quietly in denial as Jungkook spiraled in fear. 

Hoseok scratched his head and walked over lackadaisically towards the fridge, “Here you go,” he tossed it over to Jimin.   
“Here,” Jimin handed it to Jungkook.  
“I don’t need it.” Jungkook mumbled, his eyes wide. “Besides, I’ve been trying to tell you something for the past fucking hour! You won’t listen to me.”

The four of them sat in the middle of a law practice owned by Jimin’s parents. One light was on, casting an eerie shadow on Jimin, while the rest sat around in the surrounding darkness. Taehyung sat on a chair, Hoseok was leaning up against the wall, while Jimin sat at his father’s desk. Jungkook sat alone on the floor. Jimin rarely came by, only seeing fit to make a pit stop because of Jungkook’s freak out in the back of Hoseok’s car. 

“Because you sound crazy! How would the Jagnan know you’re at the party?” Jimin was flabbergasted at his imagination.   
Hoseok narrowed his eyes, “Jimin, relax. Why’re you being a dick?”   
“Because he sounds ridiculous!” Jimin shot back.  
Taehyung blinked, “Maybe we should give his idea a chance,” trying to give Jimin a way out.  
“Fuck that.” Jimin sneered, almost burning a hole through Taehyung with his gaze. 

Jungkook rolled his eyes and shook his head, “I never said they were there! I’m saying we should do something about them, because obviously they’re the ones who told the bosses in the Shiwang that I was the one who stole the drugs and resold them! Why are you being so fucking obtuse? They’ve always been trying to break us up! They’ve targeted me, because I’m the only one who’s wanted to do anything about ‘em.”

“You sure you didn’t have too much to drink? I know you’re good for that.” Jimin snarled.  
Jungkook charged him, “Fuck you!” 

“You fucking asshole!” Jungkook wailed on Jimin’s face, some of the blows being blocked by Jimin’s arms. “I’d die for you guys, and you throw that in my face?!”   
Jimin kicked him in the stomach, “Fuck off! You’re a drunk, you’re uncle’s a drunk and that’s why your parents threw your ass away to live with him. Both of you addicts deserve each other.” 

Jungkook’s eyes flooded with tears, and he couldn’t understand why Jimin was being so venomous.

Suddenly, the four heard a loud bang and their heads whipped around in the direction of the sound. Jungkook was the first to respond, jumping up and sprinting towards the door. He wrenched it open to find Chung-hee in a dark hoodie holding a machete.   
Chung-hee’s face held a zealous smile, “Happy to see me, Jungkook-ah?” 

“You fucking traitor.” Jungkook’s nostrils flared and his body felt hot. Every surface of his body was prickling with hate. “You framed me for the drugs going missing!”  
Chung-hee’s eyebrows knit together and his eyes narrowed, “What the fuck are you talking about? I didn’t frame you for—”  
“SHUT UP!” Jungkook took out the gun in the back of his belt and shot Chung-hee square in the face. 

The body fell to the ground with a dull thud, and time seemed to stop.  
*  
“Foreign reality shows are so crazy,” Namjoon said, walking side by side with Haneul. “The amount of fights that happen… I love it!”  
Haneul laughed and took a sip from her latte, “Yeah, a lot of people say it’s mindless TV, but I don’t care. I’m a part of a fanclub online for it!”  
“Omona, you take your dedication seriously,” Namjoon’s eyes were wide. 

The duo had been hanging out since the early evening, first watching movies at Haneul’s house, then heading to the city after she got the itch to explore. Now, they were in the mall walking around without much to do. 

Haneul shrugged, “Listen, it is what it is.” 

Bzz. Bzz. Bzz. Bzz. 

He took his phone out of his pocket, and saw on his cracked screen Suga was calling him. “Hey, I gotta take this.” Namjoon answered the phone, “Hello?”  
“You need to meet me.” Suga’s voice was flat, and there was arguing in the background.   
“What’s going on? Where?” Namjoon stopped walking.   
Haneul turned around, “What’s up?”  
Namjoon shrugged, walking towards her.   
Suga sighed, and the background arguments faded away, “Uh, hard to say… it’s really hard to say. Hold on.”  
“Are you alright? Dude, I’m worried. Where the fuck are you?” Namjoon listened as sounds of jostling were heard from Suga’s side.   
“Ah… I want some boba. Meet me at Kopi-Boba.” The line clicked. 

Namjoon put his phone in his pocket, “Uh, Haneul…”  
“What’s going on? You looked really worried.” Haneul leaned up against the wall.  
Namjoon’s face fell flat, ‘How do I frame this to her? Telling her the truth would freak her out.’

He turned around, “You want some boba?”  
*  
“Why did you bring her?” Suga hissed, knocking Namjoon on the arm.

Haneul knew there was something up between the two, but she resolved to ask Namjoon what happened when she got the chance. However, with Suga on Namjoon like a hawk, she hadn’t found an opening. 

“Ma’am?” The employee asked.  
Haneul shook herself out of her daze, “Oh, uh, passionfruit.” She looked back over at Suga and Namjoon at the booth, ‘What could be so bad that Suga looks so upset? Namjoon looks confused… Why didn’t he tell me on the way over here? He’s being weird.’

After she finished paying, Haneul took her drink and headed over towards the table. The low and dreamy music playing over the radio was a stark contrast to the tense atmosphere between all three of them. Suga noticed Haneul first, so he stopped talking and took a sip from his drink. Namjoon looked over his shoulder at her, a distant and unsympathetic look on his face. Haneul almost stopped in her tracks.

“What flavor did you get?” The casual energy Haneul had known Namjoon to emanate had turned severe.   
Haneul twirled her straw around, “Passionfruit.”  
“Cool.” Namjoon replied, tapping his fingers on his cup. Haneul noticed he hadn’t taken a sip from it, while Suga’s was hardly touched as well.

“Listen, Haneul,” Suga’s words were measured and careful. “I need to talk to Namjoon outside. Private chat. Is that okay with you?”  
Haneul narrowed her eyes, ‘Why is he asking for my permission?’ “What is going on? Both of you are acting so strange, and no one’s told me anything. You called us out here for boba and both of you haven’t even had any.”  
“I called him for boba, jagi.” Suga responded. “It’s a private situation. I’m sure you can understand that.”  
“Don’t call me that.” Haneul shot back. Suga raised his hands in surrender.   
“Haneul. He just needs to talk to me. That’s all.” Namjoon replied.   
Haneul eyed him strangely, “What do you mean needs to? I thought you already talked?”  
Suga rolled his eyes, and got out of his chair, “I’ll see you outside. You got the receipt?”   
Namjoon pulled it out of his pocket as he stood up, “Yeah. I’ll be out there.”

Suga headed out with his boba, while Haneul sat at the table bewildered at Namjoon.  
“What is going on?” Haneul asked, annoyed at their blatant efforts to keep her in the dark.  
“I can tell you later, alright?” Namjoon replied.  
Haneul studied him, searching for any sign of the person she’d come to know over the past couple of weeks. What she found instead were pools of sadness sprawling inside of his eyes.   
“Sure.” Haneul managed, troubled by what she’d seen. 

‘I’m gonna find out what the hell’s going on,’ Haneul thought.

Namjoon took his drink and left the restaurant. Each step he took, lighter than the next. He pushed open the door and the chilly Seoul wind brushed past his face. Suga was standing off to the side, his hands in his bomber jacket’s pockets. His usually pale face, reddening around the cheeks.

“You need to let her go. Her type doesn’t need to be involved in this kind of thing.” Suga started. “Asking all those questions… if she was from this scene, she wouldn’t even expect answers.”   
Namjoon clenched his jaw, “You didn’t call me here to talk about who I should hang out with, did you? Tell me what’s going on.”  
“Hey, why are you so fucking brash now, Joonie?” Suga sneered. “I’m telling you that for your own good!”  
“Lecture me later. What the hell happened? Why are we at a fuckin’ boba shop?”

Haneul scrolled aimlessly through her phone, unsure of what to do while she waited. 

(9:46pm) Nana: heeeeeey honny . im bored. Where r u?

Haneul suddenly lost the appetite for her drink, and got the urge to eavesdrop on the two guys outside. 

‘Moody assholes,’ Haneul thought. ‘I’m gonna see what they’re up to…’

Outside, Namjoon was led forcefully by Suga away from the building.   
“Aish! What is your problem?” Namjoon shouted, shrugging Suga off.   
Suga blinked, “Someone got shot at the law office.” 

“Who?! Why was anybody there?” Namjoon hissed.   
Suga picked at his nails, “None of our guys got hurt. You should hear it from them. Everyone’s at the office. That’s why you can’t have your girlfriend skipping along with us.” 

“Stop the bullshit with Haneul. She didn’t even do anything to you.”  
Suga threw his hands up, his eyes reduced to slits, “Where is your mind at right now? Someone got shot. You’re not even concerned about your bros?” Suga followed Namjoon with his eyes, getting in the younger’s face whenever Namjoon moved away. “Yeah. I noticed you didn’t bother ask if they’re alright. Well, they are.”

“Don’t act like I don’t care! I’m here, aren’t I? We gonna go or not?” Namjoon shot back.   
Suga rolled his eyes, “Whatever.”

(9:57pm) Nana: honny answers meeeeeeee! I hate drinking alone ^ ^

The two of them walked off, and by the time Haneul got to the door she saw how much further ahead they were. Her heart pounded, and her mind was flooded with questions. ‘Where are they going? Why didn’t Namjoon text me?’ she looked over at her car, knowing she could leave the entire situation behind her, but the curiosity that welled within her wouldn’t let her walk away. She steeled her nerves and walked out into the cold night, following the two men down an unknown path.  
*  
Jimin’s face washed white, and he stood frozen in time resembling a mannequin. Hoseok couldn’t wade through his shock, the only thought that swirled around in his head was, ‘Why is Chung-hee here?’ Taehyung felt a profound sadness and anxiety, unsure of where the cumulative events of the night would leave Jungkook, and the Dokkaebi. At the party, Jungkook was unmasked and suspected of being a drug thief, and now he’d killed a fellow Shiwang member. 

Jungkook was the only one who felt justified.

“S-see? I did it, I took care of the problem!” Jungkook smiled. The feeling of pride and accomplishment flooded his veins, he was on top of a Dokkaebi-first world. He’d stopped the threat against his brothers, but also himself. When he turned around to face his fellow Dokkaebi members, he didn’t understand their expressions.

“What’s the problem?” Jungkook mumbled, looking from face to face for validation. He wanted the approval, he needed to know he’d done a good job.

Jungkook wanted to scream at their silence.

“Hey.” The whites of Jungkook’s erratic eyes made for a jarring sight, “Hey! What’s the problem? Somebody fucking talk!”  
Jimin blinked, “Do you know what you’ve done?” 

Jimin’s mind had finally started back up and he was now calculating ways to spin this situation to his benefit. He saw many opportunities to come out on top, but it was the shock speaking. There was no getting out of this in one piece. 

“Hyung…?” Jungkook mumbled, tears fighting to fall down his face. “I-I did the right thing. He was the one who framed me for the drugs… they beat up Suga! They’ve been fucking with us for YEARS. I had to do something!” 

Hoseok wanted to comfort the younger member, but couldn’t offer any words of sympathy. The more he looked at the unnerving and distressing sight of Jungkook, the more he began to feel as if Jungkook deserved it. He was going to carry that weight. 

“Jungkook, just calm down.” Taehyung managed. “You thought you did the right thing. So, not much can be done about that.”  
Jimin stormed towards Taehyung, “Shut the fuck up. In no way was this the right thing to do.”  
“Hey, he has a point!” Taehyung backed away. “Jin wasn’t going to do anything about it. He just… he just…”  
Jimin narrowed his eyes, “What did he do, Tae? Say it. What did he do?”  
“We need to calm down,” Hoseok pulled Jimin away, feeling a lump form in his throat. “Turning on each other now, isn’t the move.”

“Jin never wanted to do anything about it,” Jungkook muttered. “So, I had to.”  
Hoseok blinked, and slapped his face, “Right! We need to call Jin and Suga. They need to get down here.”  
Jimin’s teeth grinded together, “Of all the places to do this… besides, where did you get a gun?”  
“Fuck you. I did this for all of us! And I haven’t even gotten so much as I thank you from any of you.”  
Taehyung bit his lip, “Fuck it, I’m calling Jin.” 

“I’ll call Suga,” Hoseok sighed. 

Jimin flopped down onto a plush chair, and stared at Chung-hee’s lifeless body. The round red hole framed squarely in his head and a half moon of blood surrounded his head. The blood that seeped out dried on his jacket and into the carpet beneath. The machete lying by his side. Jimin could only imagine how much it would be to replace all of it. 

“Hey, Suga… you need to get down here.” Hoseok scrolled through his phone, looking for places to meetup at.  
Suga yawned, “What’s up, Hobi? Where are you?”  
“At a boba shop. Kopi-Boba…”   
“This late at night?”  
“Just get over here.”  
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

“Jin?” Taehyung picked at his fingers incessantly. “Jin, hello?”  
“Hey. You alright?”  
Taehyung didn’t know how to answer that question. “There’s a situation.”  
“Oh… what happened? Are you safe?”  
“Just come to Jim—”

Jimin snatched the phone away from Taehyung, “Babo! Don’t fucking say where we are,” he held the phone up to his ear, “Jin? Yeah, meet us…” Jimin turned back around to face everyone, “What’s near here?”  
Hoseok leaned up against the furthest wall from the body, “A boba shop. Kopi-Boba.”  
“Kopi-Boba.” Jimin repeated.  
“Boba this late at night?”  
Jimin’s face got warmer at the sound of Jin’s nonchalant tone, “Yeah. You gonna be here?”  
“Is it that serious?”  
“Yes.”   
Jin let out a long sigh, “Sure,” and the phone clicked.

“Asshole,” Jimin slapped Taehyung’s phone back in his hands.  
Taehyung grimaced, “I could’ve handled that.”  
“Yeah, well you didn’t. You almost gave away our spot!” Jimin yelled. “What happens if for some reason someone gets a hold of our phone calls? You want to be implicated?”  
Jungkook started to back away towards the corner, “What do you mean? Who’s gonna find out?”  
“No one,” Hoseok said, Jungkook’s anxiety raising his own. “Just calm down.”  
Jungkook shook his head vigorously, his black hair whipping from side to side, “Why’d you say that then? Did you call the police? Are the police here?! Fuck that!” Jungkook made a break for the door, but Jimin tackled him.

“What the fuck?!” Taehyung shouted.  
Jimin’s face was red, “You’re not going to fuck this up anymore than you already have.”   
“Hyung…?” Jungkook whimpered.   
*  
“I don’t like this, Suga.” Namjoon walked with his hands in his pockets towards the law practice. “You didn’t tell me it was Jimin’s old man’s place.”  
Suga shrugged, “Yeah, well you can’t say that shit over the phone.”  
“What do you make of it?”  
“A fucking mess. I don’t know what the fallout will be.”  
Namjoon scratched his head, “Aren’t his parents out on vacation? Can’t he just make it look like a robbery or something? Get creative.”  
“Not that part. The person that got killed.” Suga walked up the stairs to the front door. 

It was the first time either of them had been down to the office. The group knew Jimin had a privileged background, but they didn’t know just how deep it went. He was far beyond a rebellious child, but his parents were too preoccupied to see it. Jimin used to skip celebrating his birthday because his parents were never around for it. Suga always found that odd, as Jimin made a habit out of throwing a party for anything. 

“This is so fucking eerie.” Namjoon looked inside, not able to see past the front reception wall. There was a dim orange light leaking onto the wood floor, and he could tell the rest of the gang was in the back of the building. 

The uncertain and tense energy in the air made him feel like a little kid again, and suddenly he was wandering around in a loud brothel, confused about which way was up. A young boy with blood covering his stomach, his hands and his neck. Why was everyone looking at him? What did they know that he didn’t? Time moved as slow as molasses, and every part of his body felt hollow. He didn’t know what it meant to die, or to never wake up, why then did he long for it? 

Namjoon looked like he was somewhere else, the light behind his eyes was gone. Suga looked him up and down, shaking his arm, “Namjoon? Namjoon?”  
Namjoon jolted, “Huh? What’s up?”  
Suga’s brow furrowed, “Come on, man,” Suga opened the door and the two of them slipped inside. 

Namjoon’s footsteps were uncertain and unusually light. Someone was shot at the office, but who was it that was so important that all of them needed to be there? His chest tightened in fear of the unknown factor, and he all but laughed in shock when he saw the body on the floor.

‘Eomma! Eomma!’ The voice of a young boy rang ricocheted in Namjoon’s head. The voice was almost unfamiliar to him, he didn’t remember sounding so weak, so small. 

Chung-hee’s body was sprawled on the plush carpet, his head was too gorey a sight for Namjoon to take it in and he instantly looked away. ‘What the fuck…’ Namjoon’s eyes landed on an interesting sight: Jungkook sandwiched underneath Jimin and Hoseok. The situation looked grim, and Namjoon knew it was Jungkook who shot Chung-hee. He was the most vocal of the group when it came to the Jagnan, and Namjoon understood why he did it, but why here of all places?

“This fucking sucks,” Namjoon stepped over the body and took a seat on the desk. “Y’all should’ve covered him up. That shit’s gross.”  
Suga headed over towards Jimin, “What the hell happened with him?” Jungkook’s wet eyes were shut, but he didn’t appear to be sleeping.   
“He started freaking out.” Jimin rolled his eyes.   
Suga walked away, “Not in the mood for your attitude right now.”  
“Well get used to it.” 

“What’s his problem?” Suga asked Taehyung.  
Taehyung didn’t look up from his phone, “I don’t fucking know. He’s been like that since it happened.”  
“All of you have sour ass attitudes, and it’s not fucking helping.”   
“We’ve already got people stealing drugs, now we’re the group who killed another member.” Hoseok said. “This shit isn’t something to be happy about.”  
Suga held his hands on his head, “Yeah, but is moping about it going to help? Did any of you call Jin? He should be on his way, but I thought he would get here earlier.”  
“Man, fuck him.” Jimin sneered. “That asshole doesn’t give a damn about us. I’ll be surprised if he shows up at all.”  
Suga picked up a mug off of the desk and pelted it at Jimin, “Watch your fucking mouth.”  
Jimin barely managed to hit it away from his face in time, “Whatever.”

“What if we just call one of the cleaners?” Namjoon raised his eyebrows, looking around the room with too much enthusiasm. “Wait… that's not a good idea. They’ll know someone died here, and once the Jagnan reports that jackass missing…” He kicked his feet up on the desk, “Yeah, this really fucking sucks.”  
“Thanks for your help.” Suga shook his head, walking over to Namjoon. “How are you so calm about this?”

‘Eomma! Please, wake up!’ The memory banged on the walls of his mind, but Namjoon refused to acknowledge it.

“On the shitty jobs I get, I see a lot of weird things. The club I was supervising a couple of days ago has a problem with a guy who likes to hurt women. This shit isn’t new to me.” Namjoon swayed from side to side in the swivel chair. “Really shouldn’t shock any of us.”

‘I wonder how Haneul is…’ Namjoon thought, looking at his phone. ‘Should I bother....?’

“You wanna be the one to talk to Byunghoo about a dead member?” Suga’s mention of the Shiwang’s boss almost made Namjoon laugh.   
Namjoon poked his lips out, “I’m already in enough trouble with him. What’s another thing on the list?” 

‘Joonie-yah, wh-what happened to you? Where’s your eomma?’ The sweet voice of another lady seeped into Namjoon’s mind, feeling him with a strange feeling of warmth and dread. 

“Babo,” Suga remarked. 

The group’s heads peeked up when they heard the front door shut, and a pair of footsteps followed. Jin’s tall figure appeared and stopped short in the hall before Chung-hee’s body. The look in his eyes seemed to suggest he wasn’t there. His shoulders fell slightly, and he stepped over the body. He looked as if he hadn’t gotten much sleep and the scent of alcohol wasn’t far behind him. He saw Jimin sitting on top of the distraught Jungkook. All the chatter in the room died down and he took a position in the middle of the room.

“What happened?”   
Suga stood up straight, “Jungkook killed Chung-hee.”

Jin felt every muscle in his body tighten, and the crick in his neck stung even worse. His face erupted in a wave of heat, but he didn’t show it. They just had to fuck up on his watch. Why didn’t any other groups have these problems? 

‘Man, he looks weird when he goes all quiet,’ Namjoon thought.

Jin reacted to the news faster than anyone could catch him. He lunged for Jungkook’s prone body, and grabbed him by the collar, knocking Jimin off of him. 

Jimin recovered with a sour look, “Hey, what the fuck?”

“You fucking asshole! You do this? THIS IS WHAT YOU DO?!”   
Jungkook’s eyes shot open, receiving Jin’s rage was a raging nightmare. “Huh? What?”  
“Why did you do this?!” Jin yelled, shaking Jungkook so hard his head was thrown back and forth. “You fucking idiot! Why?”

Namjoon and Suga were the only ones to pull Jin off of Jungkook, “Jin, calm down!” Suga shouted.   
“Get off of him!” Namjoon pulled Jin back, but the two of them were overwhelmed by Jin’s anger, and he broke free. Jin raised a fist to punch Jungkook, but Taehyung and Hoseok helped restrain him. 

“You have ruined everything!” Jin yelled. “Everything I worked for! Fuck you, you worthless piece of shit.”  
Suga hit the back of Jin’s head, “Seokjin, get a hold of yourself!”

Jin flailed and tried his hardest to get out of their grip, but they wouldn’t budge. Jungkook cowered in the corner, his hands above his head. Jimin sat in the same spot he fell into, amused by the beating Jungkook almost received. 

Jungkook’s face was soaked with tears, and his attempts at hiding his pain only made him look pitiful. The soft weeps that escaped his mouth only served to anger Jin further. How dare Jungkook feel upset about a problem he caused? Jin couldn’t understand the reason Jungkook was crying, but he didn’t want to. 

‘Serves him right,’ Jimin thought. 

“This is… this is…” Jin shook his head. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be…”

There was no way they could rely on outside help, everyone would know that their group was responsible for Chung-hee’s death. Or at least they would piece it together. For his entire time as leader of the Dokkaebi, he’d always done things by the book, “The Old Way”, as Byunghoo put it, earned him a favored spot. Jin never wanted it. 

That spot was always a double edged sword, because once he got it, anything he did to lose it would mean his head. He couldn’t ever afford to mess up, and he was held to a higher and tighter standard. To handle this, he’d have to get his hands dirty. Something he so desperately sought to avoid. The situation was staring him in the face, and he couldn’t walk away from it. 

‘Is this my lot in life? Is this it? Cleaning up these fucking messes…’ Jin’s mind was a barrage of negativity. ‘It’s like one step forward and ten steps back.’

His muscles relaxed and he closed his eyes. “I’m fine. You all can let go now.”

They released his arms and grip around his chest slowly, looking for any sign of further violence. Jin didn’t care about being a leader, at the moment, his emotions needed to be heard. Jin stood still, and Taehyung thought he resembled Jimin’s stance earlier. The room, quiet save for Jungkook’s crying, seemed like a different place entirely. It was no longer an office space, but a space of anger, resentment, and sadness. They were brought back down to earth by Jin’s return to anger.

Suga looked around the room, unsure if his next move would work. He took a breath, “Kookie, now you should explain what happened.” 

Jungkook opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off. 

“Jungkook, what the fuck?!” Jin hissed.  
Jungkook couldn’t see through his tears, “There wasn’t any other choice, Jin! I had to, otherwise they were going to tear us apart.”  
“What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck…” Jin laughed, a crazed look taking over his face.  
Jungkook backed away, “Just calm down! Everything’s better now.”   
“How? How was killing the co-captain of the Jagnan a good fucking idea?” Jin didn’t know if he could look at Jungkook as a brother anymore. He’d fucked up too much for him.

Shock radiated throughout Jimin’s head as the situation completely dawned on him, and he couldn’t stop the bewildering smile from spreading across his face. 

“Wipe that stupid ass smile off your face, Jimin. This shit ain’t funny.” Suga snapped, hitting Jimin’s head.  
“It’s not? The body is literally in the middle of my family’s practice. My lawyer family.” He threw his hands out comically to display the corpse.

Jungkook heaved a deep breath, charging towards Jimin, “That’s not my fucking fault!”   
Suga grabbed Jimin, preventing him from swinging on Jungkook. 

Jimin pushed him off, “You touch me again, I’ll beat your ass.”

“Chill the fuck out. We can’t be fighting each other right now. We’ve gotta… move it somewhere.” Hoseok didn’t feel confident being the voice of reason, but seeing as Jin was doing nothing to diffuse the situation, he figured he had to step in.

“Let the guy who killed him clean it up.” Jin kept steady and direct eye contact with Jungkook, but the younger couldn’t meet his eyes.  
Jungkook held his head down, “I thought this was what you wanted…? What did I do wrong, hyung?”   
“Everything.” Jin ignored Jungkook’s tears. 

Namjoon felt a dagger in his heart as he watched Jin’s treatment of Jungkook. ‘He needs to cut him some fucking slack… he’s just a kid.’ 

‘I was sitting outside, and some big guy came in. Now she won’t wake up!’ The young Namjoon cried. ‘Why won’t she wake up?’

“Relax, Jungkook… we’ll figure something out.”

“Hey, Joonie, what’s taking… so long…” She squeezed her boba cup, causing the tea to spill out and flood over her fingers.

Haneul stopped squarely in her tracks as if she’d been turned off. Her eyes were stuck on the remains of the body in front of her. Her skin felt prickly and hot, like a rash she couldn’t soothe. No matter how much she wanted to run away, her feet wouldn’t move. Would she die here? That would be a shame. 

Namjoon’s heartbeat slowed and his heart dropped to his stomach. She wasn’t supposed to be here, or see this side. This side of himself didn’t exist with her. She was the first person who hadn’t known the dark underbelly of his life. Now that underbelly was exposed and blood covered, and the disgusted look in her face was rejection.

“Great. What the fuck’s she doing here?” Taehyung groaned.  
Namjoon bit his lip, “Haneul, you need to go back outside.”  
“He’s… he’s dead,” she muttered, unable to move.   
“Haneul!” Namjoon shouted, “Go back outside.”  
“Namjoon, what’re you… what’s going on?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had a lot of fun writing this chapter - especially because i got to reconcile the flash forward from chapter 1 ^^   
> but ah~ i wonder what comes next?


	9. profiles in anxiety

Nari woke up with the intention of having a lazy day, and she fulfilled that by lazing around on the couch watching TV. Nari only ever heard Haneul when she returned home at night, on the rare occasion that Nari was even at home herself, and she couldn’t understand why Haneul had turned so cold to her. Nari dealt with it by hanging out with other people. 

The last person she hung out with was Jimin, and her mind instantly went to Haneul’s futile advice to stay away from him. She didn’t care about Haneul’s supposed guidance, as Haneul was hanging out with Namjoon and even Nari knew the rumours about him. 

‘That weirdo’s dad was a known drug dealer, and she tells me to stay away from Jimin? Like father, like son. I bet Namjoon has a habit just like his dad,’ Nari thought, putting a top coat on her nails. ‘What does she see in him, anyway?’

Her mind wandered back to the night with Jimin and she couldn’t understand why she thought of Junghwan. The little she could remember of that night was hazy, but the expression on Jimin’s face looked fearful. 

‘I don’t wanna think about this anymore,’ Nari thought. 

Tring. Tring. 

Nari picked up when she saw the police department was calling her. The conversation was a nice and quick reminder that she needed to get down to the station to submit DNA, in order to be cleared from the Gu Jong-min case. Nari arranged for an Uber and got dressed, leaving the TV on to play to an audience of no one.

‘Aish, this place is depressing,’ Nari thought. 

Nari stepped through the department’s front doors and into the front office. A man sat behind the front counter, bleary-eyed with a 5 o’ clock shave. There were a few chairs in the waiting room, some of them occupied by people who looked old enough to be her grandparents. She looked away immediately, not wanting to guess what they were there for, and approached the exhausted man behind the counter. 

“Yes?” He asked, without looking up. He’d been writing something down on a notepad next to him, and Nari could tell he wasn’t at all interested in why she was there.  
“I’m here for a DNA test. Detective Bora told me to come down.”  
“Oh,” he pulled up a clipboard with a half broken clip and tossed it on the counter. “Sign in here.”

After scribbling her name down on the haphazardly held paper, she returned the clipboard and stood quietly in front of him.

‘Ugh, I wanna get outta here. This place sucks,’ Nari thought. 

“I’ll tell her you’re waiting for her. Just have a seat.”  
Nari nodded slowly, annoyed at his sour attitude, “Thanks.”  
“Mhm.”

Nari chose a seat away from the elderly people she saw when she came in, and began scrolling through social media. She wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but didn’t have any other way to pass the time. She stumbled upon a selca of Jimin from two days ago, his eyes looked heavy and empty. ‘I wonder if he’s okay…’ Nari thought, but she shook her head, ‘Wait, why do I even care?’

A door swung open and a woman dressed in a sleek grey suit stepped out. This time her hair fell neatly on her back, and she wore a bold mauve lip. ‘She’s always so stylish,’ Nari thought. 

“Nari, it’s good to see you.” Bora said, holding the door open. In her gloved hands she held a manilla folder and a plastic tube. “Come on back.”  
“Hello,” Nari stood up and walked over to the detective and through the door. It shut behind her and Bora took the lead. 

“So, how is your day so far?”

Bora led her down a walkway surrounded by several messy desks. Some of them were occupied with people slouched in their chairs with phones held limply to the side of their head. Despite how many people were on the phone, there seemed to be a phone incessantly ringing. 

Nari shrugged, “I guess it’s okay. I just want to get this over with.”  
“Ah, it’ll be quicker than you think.” Bora led her to an area with a partition, and closed it around the two. “After we take your DNA, it’s off for immediate testing.”

The small partitioned area was littered with files and binders filled to the brim with papers. There was a desk to the side, missing a chair and a large metal cabinet behind Bora. Nari didn’t understand how they operated in such disarray. 

“Okay… when will I know?”  
Bora unscrewed the cap and pulled out the swab, “Within the next couple of weeks. You can hold on until then. Alright, just open your mouth,” Bora swiped the cotton swab in Nari’s cheek a few times and put it back in the tube. “See how easy that was?”  
“Yeah. Can I go now?”  
Bora opened up the file, skimmed through it and closed it just as soon as she’d opened it, “Have you heard anything recently about Gu Jong-min at your school?”

“No… other than his parents are taking it hard.”  
Bora leaned on the metal cabinet, “As any parent would.”  
“I wouldn’t know…” Nari looked at the ground.  
Bora looked over the young girl, finding a lonely aura surrounding her. She dressed with purpose, but the investigator could tell it was armor. The young girl who’d come off as a gossiper when Bora first met her at the school, now looked like someone tossed to the side, making an effort to act as if she was unaffected and unattainable.

“The students who usually come down here, have their parents with them. Where are yours?”  
Nari took a step back, “They’re overseas. They’re scientists, so their job takes them where their skills allow… or something.”  
Bora could tell she was lying, but found no merit in calling her out on it. “I think they would want to know if a kidnapping happened at their daughter’s school. I think they would be concerned.”  
“Well, I think you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nari snapped.  
Bora raised her eyebrows, “Why do you say that?”  
“Is this about that kid that’s missing or is it about me? What is your fucking problem? Why do you care so much?” Nari threw her hands out in protest, and Bora thought she looked even more like the child she was desperately trying not to be.

“It’s my job to be concerned about people who might be in trouble, criminal or otherwise.” Bora replied.  
Nari rolled her eyes and shifted her weight, her arm akimbo, “Whatever. When can I go?”  
“You’re free to leave, if you want,” Bora walked over to the partition and pulled it back.  
“Finally,” Nari grumbled.  
*  
“Ah, that’s it, boy! Drink up!” Byunghoo clapped his hands together. His face was red as an apple and his smile wider than a mile. 

Jin was sitting at a table in an Indo-Chinese fusion hotel restaurant, the Tied Up Duck. All of the other tables were closed at Byunghoo’s request, with a limited wait staff. In attendance at the dinner was Jaehyuk, the supervisor of the Dokkaebi, Choi, the supervisor of the Jagnan, with Junseo running late. It was a rare occasion for Jin to not have to worry about the Dokkaebi, and tonight he planned on drinking as much as he could. 

“Aish, when is Junseo going to get here?” Choi slammed down a shot glass. “I can’t drink with this one here, he’s still wet behind the ears.”  
Jin raised his glass, “If you’re up for a game, I’m ready to go.”  
“I’ll pass,” Choi leaned back.  
Byunghoo hit Jin on the back, “I never knew you had it in you!”  
Jaehyuk stirred his cocktail around, “He’s just excited to be one of us tonight.”  
‘Not exactly,’ Jin thought. “It’s nice to relax every once in a while.” He played around with his mostly-eaten Gobi Manchurian, unsure of how to act. 

“That’s why I brought you out here. I’m proud of the work you’ve been doing.” Byunghoo held his head on his hand. “I think it’s time you’re prepped for a bigger role. He’ll be the one to guide you.”  
Jin raised his eyebrows at the prospect, but before he could answer Choi cut in. 

‘That’s actually a pretty big deal,’ Jin thought. ‘I wonder if there is something good to take from this.’

Choi waved a hand dismissively, “Ei! It’s not hard to surpass expectations, when little is expected of him.”  
“Watch your mouth, Choi,” Jaehyuk grunted. “The boss brought him here for a reason.”  
Jin shook himself out of a mild daze, “Thank you, sajang-nim. I… don’t know what to say.”

Byunghoo studied Jin for a moment, a look of wistfulness in his eyes Jin had never seen before.  
“You remind me so much of Chinhwa,” Byunghoo started. “He had a lot of fire in his heart. Perhaps, too much.”  
Jaehyuk took a shot from his soju bottle, and shut his eyes, ‘Back down this road again, Byung-ssi?’  
“Nothing like reminiscing over his golden boy,” Choi grumbled, taking another shot. 

‘I’ve never heard him mention a Chinhwa,’ Jin refilled his glass. 

Byunghoo glared at Choi and grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket, “Shut your fucking mouth for once.” He pushed Choi back, almost toppling his chair.  
“I’m sorry, sajang-nim.” Choi bowed.

‘Aish. He must’ve been someone close to the boss,’ Jin thought. 

The tense energy in the room sobered Jin up, “Who was Chinhwa, sajang-nim?”  
Jaehyuk and Byunghoo made eye contact, and the latter heaved a deep sigh. The somber look returned to his eyes, “An old friend.”

The door to the restaurant opened and all except Byunghoo turned to see who it was. Junseo came striding through the sea of empty tables, his collar loose and shirt crinkled. He wore a wide smile, but the severe look in his eyes painted a different picture.

‘Looks like he’s been up to something devious,’ Jin thought. 

“Right on time. Just like I said I would be,” Junseo took a seat in between Choi and Jaehyuk.  
Byunghoo poured himself another glass, “All that partying will catch up to you, janha.”  
“Old habits die hard, Byung-ssi,” Jaehyuk laughed.  
“I might as well have fun while I can, right?” Junseo picked up an empty glass and filled it to the brim with soju. “Besides, we’re here to celebrate Jin. I’m happy to take him on as a mentee.” His eyes seemed to ice over when he said the words, and Jin felt his gaze was just as cold. 

‘What’s his deal?’ Jin thought. 

Jin picked at the seam on his dress pants, “Thank you, Junseo-ssi.”  
“Sajang-nim, do you mind if I steal Jin away from you? I’d like to talk to the boy of the hour.”  
Byunghoo nodded and waved them both off, “Go ahead.” 

Junseo got up and headed towards a window far away from the table, with Jin right behind. Byunghoo mentioned that Junseo would be his new mentor, but Jin’s intuition told him this conversation wouldn’t be about his new responsibilities. However, he still went into it with an open mind. 

“Seokjin-ah,” Junseo started, leaning up against the window. “How have you been this evening?”  
Jin stood with his hands in his pockets, “Fine. The boss told me he wants to prep me for a bigger role… I wasn’t expecting that, but it’s cool. You being my new mentor was a surprise.”  
“Surprise to both of us… but it’s cool, huh?” Junseo looked him up and down. “You’re feeling pretty good about yourself then.”  
Jin shrugged, “Kinda.”  
“Huh?” Junseo tilted his head. “Why?”  
Jin bit his lip, “I don’t know if I’m ready. I’d like to be… I don’t want to disappoint him.” Jin’s face reddened, “Aigoo… I need to be careful about how much I drink.”

Junseo seemed to relax, “He likes you. I would hope you don’t do anything to fuck that up.”  
“That’s the last thing I want to do.”  
“So what have you heard about the missing drugs?” Junseo’s eyes flickered over to Jin. “We still haven’t located the culprit.”  
Jin shook his head, “I’ve heard nothing. Suga and I have been running the drops to make sure nothing happens with them. We haven’t seen anything weird so far.”  
“I’ve seen some irregularities, but I don’t have the full story yet.” Junseo searched Jin’s face for any tells, “A little birdie told me it was one of your guys. Jungkook, to be specific.”

‘What the fuck? He’s bluffing. He wants a reaction out of me. Jungkook stealing doesn’t make any sense. He wouldn’t do something to hurt us,’ Jin thought.

Jin shook his head, “That doesn’t make sense. I can’t think of anyone more loyal than Jungkook. Besides, Suga and I have been taking care of the drops. Whoever told you that was lying.”  
“Oh, so sure?” Junseo clicked his teeth. “So was my source.”

‘If he was so sure, he would’ve told Byunghoo. I’m not going to give him what he wants,’ Jin thought. ‘Besides, if this guy is my new mentor, I have to play it cool.’

“Hyung-nim, if you are sure then you should tell Byunghoo.” Jin’s dark eyes pierced a hole through Junseo.  
Junseo shrugged, “I only said it was a source, and I have conflicting information. I am not so keen on bringing the boss a flimsy explanation. Make sure not to bring half-assed info to the boss, jagi. That’s your first lesson.”  
“Understood, hyung-nim,” Jin nodded. “I’m sorry.”

‘I knew it,’ Jin thought. ‘Calling his bluff was easy enough, but I wish I knew who was doing this shit, ‘cause now suspicions on us.’

Junseo nodded, “Well, I’ll let you get back to your little party. I wouldn’t want to keep you too long.”  
“Sure.” 

The two headed back to the table, and as soon as the conversation ended he got a phone call from Taehyung.  
“Jin?” Taehyung’s nervous voice came over the phone. “Jin, hello?”  
Jin turned around, “Hey. You alright?”  
“There’s a situation.”  
Jin rolled his eyes, and balled his fist in his pocket, “Oh… what happened? Are you safe?”  
“Just come to Jim—”

“Babo!” Jin heard Jimin’s voice in the background and a jostling sound on the mic. He thought the phone dropped, but the noise went away. “Jin? Yeah, meet us… Kopi-Boba.”  
“Boba this late at night?” 

‘Why are they calling me about fucking boba?’ Jin thought.

“Yeah. You gonna be here?”  
Jin held back a sigh, “Is it that serious?”  
“Yes.”  
Jin turned to look back at Byunghoo and the rest of his superiors, a long sigh escaping his lips, “Sure.” He hung up.

‘I wonder what bullshit they’re up to now,’ Jin thought. 

Jin returned to the table, stopping short in front of Byunghoo. “Sajang-nim,” he bowed, “I’m sorry, but I can’t stay. Something hit my stomach the wrong way…”

Junseo surveyed Jin, wondering what he was up to. 

Byunghoo leaned back in his chair, “There’s no need for the formalities. Go. Junseo and I will speak with you tomorrow.”  
“Thank you, sajang-nim.” Jin said. “I’ll look forward to it.”

‘What does he see in me? I mean… I guess it’s good, but I don’t understand.’ Jin thought. ‘I wonder what the rest of the guys got into. Tae sounded worried… and Jimin sounded off. Hopefully, it’s nothing too bad.’  
*  
After a spontaneous solo trip to the mall, Nari arrived back home later than she expected and was now on her way to finishing a freshly opened bottle of whisky. None of her friends from the Japanese Culture Club responded to her text messages, so she figured she would end the day by herself with a bang. The moon cast down a revealing light over the city, and was the perfect drinking partner. Silent, but watchful.

‘That detective is a fucking weirdo. She needs to mind her business.’ Nari thought. 

She kicked her shoes off and flopped onto the couch, sinking into the plush pillows and watching the reality show on the TV.

‘Bullshit TV is always fun,’ she mused. 

After she took another swig, Nari’s mind flooded with images of a white room. Furnished with a patient’s examination table, a few chairs, and a sink. There was a large light above it, ‘Right?’ Nari thought. Nurses stroked her hair, and the cold sensation of her lower area being breached sent a shiver up her spine. She looked around for her parents, but they weren’t there. The nurse above her kept insisting everything would be okay. If that was true, why was Haneul crying? The image of the hospital left and the only thing she saw in her mind was Haneul’s dull eyes. 

Nari took another big gulp from the bottle, and wiped her eyes. The images swirled away in a smokey haze. She took out her phone, and texted her older sister. 

(9:46pm) Nari: heeeeeey honny . im bored. Where r u?

Nari threw her head back and let out a groan, “I need something to do!” She looked around the house, until she sat up ramrod straight, “Wait… I’ll see what I can find in her room.”

Stumbling to her feet, she bounded for Haneul’s room. She almost slipped on the slick wood flooring, but managed to make it to the door by using the wall as a guide. Wrenching open the door, she was greeted with a pristine room. Everything in order, nothing out of place. 

Just the sight of it was enough to enrage her.

“I hate her! I hate her! I hate her!” Nari screamed. 

She took a swig from the bottle and launched it at her wall, running throughout her room in an effort to knock over whatever she could. By the time Nari was done, Haneul’s room was littered with broken candles, destroyed perfume bottles, and a few chairs had been knocked over. Posters of singers and bands had been torn down, and the scraps floated slowly to the ground. 

Next, she scoured the room for anything personal to her sister. She opened every drawer, tried to login to her computer, but found nothing. 

“Where the fuck…” Nari breathed, holding her side. “Wait.” She headed towards her bed and dropped down, stretching her arms as far as she could manage underneath it. Her hands fell on a box and after she pulled it out she ripped the top off. 

The box was moderate and a blush pink and lavender color. Inside were scattered about papers, some notes, some letters, and some lists. There was a photo of Haneul with ex-friends and her ex-boyfriend. Nari threw it out of her sight and rifled through the papers in search of something raw. She soon found what she was looking for. The handwriting was akin to a scribble, and the paper was crumpled. She took a photo of it, and brought it to her face. Rips and tears were found throughout the unanswered call for help.

“I can’t take it anymore…” Nari read. 

All of them are monsters. All of them grotesque. I would never betray them. Now she’s pregnant… My parents look at me with lifeless eyes and their smiles are so empty. They don’t know what I go through... they’re focused completely on Nari and her fucking pregnancy. SHE FUCKED HIM! Why do they care so much? I helped her with everything I could… and she fucks him. I don’t feel like I’m in my body most days. They haven’t noticed I don’t eat anymore. They thought I didn’t notice that my belts and chairs were taken away. If they were so worried about my mental health… they wouldn’t have treated me that way. 

The tears that built up in Nari’s eyes spilled over, but she felt no sadness for Haneul. She felt it all for herself.  
“I was the one who had the abortion, you bitch!” Nari screamed, throwing the paper away. “I had to go through that by myself!” She held her face and wept, “You weren’t there for me…”

Nari composed herself and left Haneul’s room, deciding to settle in the family room. The alcohol had taken full affect, and every movement made the world spin. She’d thought about calling Haneul, but with her inhibitions completely lowered, she called her parents instead. 

Surprisingly, they picked up.

“Nari?” The voice of her mother sounded foreign.  
Nari balled her fist, “You’re fucking terrible! Why bother adopt me, if it was going to end up like this?”  
“Nari-ya, have you been drinking?”  
“That’s besides the point!” Nari shouted. “You forced me to get an abortion. I don’t feel like my own fucking person!”  
“Nari, is Haneul there? Where is Haneul?” Her father’s voice took over the call. Nari guessed her mother didn’t want to deal with her anymore. “She can help you calm down. Just find Haneul.”  
“Fuck if I know. She’s probably out with her boyfriend.”  
“Oh? She has a boyfriend?”  
Nari felt a sick sense of pleasure at revealing information about Haneul their parents were unaware of.  
“Maybe I misspoke.” Nari hung up.

“They’re still the same… they don’t give a fuck about me.” Nari blew a strand of hair out of her face. “What assholes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i originally wrote nari as a happy go lucky kind of girl - but after reading grotesque by natuso kirino a few years back, i was inspired to write her like a character in that book. (๑˘︶˘๑) the older sister to the main character, who was all too aloof, scheming and jaded


	10. 畫皮 (the painted skin)

‘What the fuck? What’s going on here?’ Haneul thought, her eyes darting around the room. ‘What happened to the head…? Where’s the rest of it?!’

Jin narrowed his eyes at her, then turned back to Namjoon, “Who is this?”

Haneul’s hands started shaking, and her throat tightened. Vomit expelled from her mouth, and she fell back on the wall. “I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to be here,” she covered her eyes with her hands, and her knees shook hastily, banging together violently to start forming bruises.

Namjoon was rooted to his seat in fear, his eyes zeroing in on Haneul’s weak form. ‘Why did she follow me?! I’m supposed to feel bad for her? She came running after me, we told her to stay there!’ Namjoon thought. 

“Uh,” Namjoon was frozen in his chair, “She’s… she’s a friend.”

Jin took off his jacket and bent down to cover the upper half of the body. “Why is she here?”  
“I think she was worried about me,” Namjoon replied, unsure of how Jin would react. “She gave me a ride to the boba shop.  
“Ah,” Jin nodded, running a hand through his hair as he went, “Alright… Suga, Hobi, cover the rest of the body. I’ll handle this.”

“Alright,” Suga took off his jacket and knelt down, wrapping it around the middle section of the body.  
“Okay.” Hoseok wrapped his jacket around the lower portion of the body.  
Suga grimaced, wishing he’d worn a cheaper jacket. “You’re buying me another jacket.”  
Jin waved a hand, “Aish. Just do it.”

Jin walked over to Haneul, stepping over the body casually. He crouched down next to her, and held her arms. ‘She’s shaking like a leaf…’ He thought.

Haneul found the warmth of his hands contrasted with the ice in his eyes. He seemed to regard her as a nuisance, an outsider, something to be dealt with as opposed to being cared for. She wanted to run away, but he was her only source of comfort in a situation that was too alien. No matter how prickly his embrace was. 

“This isn’t the best situation to meet under, but my name is Jin,” he stroked her fingers with his thumbs, and her arms started to lower. “I’m sorry you had to see this.”

‘How is he so calm? It’s terrifying,’ Haneul thought.

Haneul sniffled, “What’s going to happen to me? Are you going to—”  
“No,” his tone of voice was firm, but gentle. “Namjoon says you’re his friend, right?”  
She nodded, “Yeah.”

“So, you care about him.” Jin continued, bringing her arms down. “I think that shows a lot of strength, caring about someone.”  
She blinked, “I don’t know what you’re getting at.”

“You shouldn’t be here, but this might be the safest place you can be for now.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“The guy who was killed here tonight, hurt my friends. Now, his friends might come looking for him, and I don’t think he was stupid enough to not tell them where he went.” Jin brought a hand to her face, “Are you following?” 

Haneul furrowed her brow, “So they’re coming here?”  
“They could, and I don’t think you should be by yourself. You’ve seen something traumatic. I will take care of you, if you let me.”  
“How?”  
Jin held both of her hands in his own, “You’ll sit over there, in Namjoon’s seat. C’mon, I’ll walk you over there.”  
“Okay.”

Jin helped her up and walked her over and around the body. Every step felt like a lifetime for Haneul and her eyes were fixed straight ahead like a doll. Jin felt her body relax, but that didn’t mean he could let up on her emotions yet. 

“She’s gonna sit there,” Jin said, and Namjoon stood up.

Namjoon watched as she was sat in the seat by Jin, but didn’t offer any sympathy. Haneul was too concerned with the image of a mutilated body to care. 

Jin crouched down in front of her, and held her hands, “You’re gonna stay here. That’s all I need from you. We’ll be out of here soon. Then you’ll be able to go home, okay?”  
“Alright.”

Jin stood up and motioned for Namjoon to follow him. They stood off to the side further away from Haneul, but the distance might as well had been a chasm. Haneul didn’t know who this version of Namjoon was.

“What do you want me to do?” Namjoon asked.  
Jin sighed, “We’re moving the body. Before that, we gotta clean up. There’s a Lotte around here somewhere, so you and Taehyung will go get some cleaning supplies.”  
“Sure,” Namjoon said.  
“You alright? You’ve been really quiet.”  
Namjoon nodded, “I’m fine. Well, I’ll be back.”  
“Taehyung! Go with Namjoon,” Jin called out. He walked with Namjoon halfway, stopping at the body.  
Taehyung nodded and put his hands in his pockets, leaving the office with Namjoon right behind. 

“I don’t even know what to get…” Namjoon muttered, looking up and down the aisle.  
Taehyung picked up a gallon of all-purpose cleaner and a gallon of concentrated bleach. “I’m only guessing. Maybe he figured you’d know.”  
“Don’t know about that…”

The duo arrived at Lotte Mart about 15 minutes after they’d left the law office. They traveled in silence most of the way there and the stress between the two was thicker than butter. Namjoon was curious about why the four of them were even at the office, and was shocked to find out Jimin was so well off.

“Did you know his dad was a lawyer?” Namjoon asked, his eyes wide.  
Taehyung glanced over at him, “Yeah. His mom, too.”  
“Wonder why he didn’t tell us…”  
“Probably ‘cause he hates them,” Taehyung went on. “They’re overbearing, but I think something else happened. I don’t know. He won’t tell me.”  
Namjoon picked up a bundle of rags, “Why were y’all even there? What the hell happened?”

“Well…” Taehyung’s mouth turned into a grimace. 

‘If I tell him Jungkook was accused of stealing the drugs, he’ll ask how someone could even suspect him and I’d have to tell him about the masks…’ Taehyung’s mouth dropped open and the gallons in his hands fell to the floor. 

Namjoon’s head whipped over to him, “Dude, you okay?” He picked up the jugs and shook Taehyung’s shoulders. “Tae?”  
“What?” He snapped out of his daze violently. 

‘Jimin set them up. The masks, the guy he bought the invitation from…’ Taehyung’s mind raced. ‘What the fuck is wrong with him? I thought we were all brothers.’

“You just zoned out and dropped all your shit.” Namjoon gestured with the bottles he was carrying.  
Taehyung fidgeted with his jacket sleeves, “Right. Sorry.” He took back the jugs. “What were we talking about?”  
Namjoon leaned forward, “I asked you why you guys were even there. Why is Chung-hee lying on someone’s fucking carpet?”  
“He fucking ambushed us. What do you want me to say?” Taehyung hissed. “Get off my back.”  
“Whatever you fucking did, we will find out.” Namjoon picked up another bundle of rags and put them in the bucket he found near it.  
Taehyung picked at his fingers, “Why are you being like that? Why can’t you just believe something bad happened?”  
“Because you’re acting funny.”  
Taehyung rolled his eyes, “Whatever. I’m checking out.”  
“Mhm.” Namjoon scoffed.

The two of them headed up to the checkout area that was manned by a lone girl. She was leaning on the register with her back to the two of them and texting on her phone. Taehyung slammed his items on the belt and she turned around with a start, “Oh!” and dropped her phone.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there…” she stood back up, and started scanning their items. “How is your night going?”  
Namjoon shrugged, flashing a toothy grin, “Pretty average. How about you?”  
“Omona, I just wanna go home,” she whined, bagging the items up. “My shift doesn’t end for another hour.”  
Taehyung bit his lip, “What’s the total?”  
“It’ll be…” she bagged up the last item and tapped a few buttons on the touchscreen, “right on the screen for you.”  
Taehyung pulled out a card and swiped it through, “Cool.”

The receipt rolled out and Taehyung ripped it out before the clerk could hand it to him. He picked up the bags and walked out of the store. The girl doubled back at his attitude, but kept her composure.  
“Rough night?”  
Namjoon hitched an eyebrow, “I guess. What are you doing tomorrow night?”  
“Well, I’m gonna b—”  
Taehyung ducked his head back in, “Come on.”  
“Ugh, well, maybe I’ll see you another time.” Namjoon winked.  
The clerk blushed and went back to her phone. “Bye-bye.”

Namjoon followed Taehyung out and punched his shoulder.  
“Aish! What’s your problem?”  
Namjoon glowered at him, “What was that? Why’d you block me?”  
“You’re trying to get a number throughout all of this?!” Taehyung shook his head. “I wonder what you’re little Haneul would think.”  
Namjoon pressed his lips together, “That’s not the point. You’re still hiding what happened.”

“Look.” Taehyung stopped short on the sidewalk, “We came back from a party. Jungkook’s fucking freaking out ‘cause he’s high as hell. We took a detour to Jimin’s dad’s office, and Chung-hee comes in with a machete and Jungkook shot him.”  
Namjoon scratched his head, “Why does it feel like you’re leaving something out?”  
“I’m not!” Taehyung shouted. “You’re just being paranoid.”  
“Like I said.” Namjoon said, markedly. “We will find out.”  
*  
“Lift him… no, right here,” Jin grumbled. Chung-hee was dropped into Jimin’s trunk with a dull sound and Jin slammed down the trunk door.  
“At least it’s not my car,” Hoseok remarked.

Up above, the stars seemed to twinkle in vain for the group of marauders covering up their dirty deed below. Wind sweeping up the leaves and the bitter chill of the night surrounded them. After transporting the corpse from the office, like modern-day psychopomps, they stood back and looked at each other. There was a silent understanding between all of them that what they’d done bound them all together whether they liked it or not. 

“Well,” Jin heaved a long sigh, “it’s done. Jimin, you have the keys, right?”  
Jimin jingled Chung-he’s car keys in his hands, “Yup.”  
Hoseok wiped his hands, “So, Namjoon’s friend can go now, right? And we can finally get on with tonight.”  
“No,” Jin leaned on the trunk, “I’m keeping her here so she doesn’t go and tell. Making her an accomplice would only seal the deal.”  
Jimin adjusted Jin’s collar, “Well, well. Even I didn’t think of that.”  
“Maybe you think too highly of yourself,” Jin swatted Jimin’s hand away.  
Jimin made a mocking face, “Whatever.”

The trio heard the sound of heavy and quick footsteps, and turned around to see Namjoon and Taehyung fast approaching.

“Ah, they’re back. I wonder how well they’re gonna be able to clean it up.”  
“It’s just a temporary thing,” Jin said. “The carpets will be replaced soon, but that’s not my biggest priority right now.”  
Jimin shrugged, “Whatever. What’re you gonna do with the body?”  
“That’s not your business, just yet,” Jin replied. Namjoon and Taehyung walked up to him, “Hurry up and clean the carpet. We’ve gotta get going soon.”  
*  
“I didn’t know Namjoon was going to bring you,” Suga leaned up against the desk. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to see that.”  
Haneul lied her head down on the varnished desk, “I was his ride.”  
“Still…” Suga muttered.  
“What’s going to happen? Is this something you guys do often?”

Suga chuckled bitterly, “If you want to know more about Namjoon just ask.”  
“I don’t… I don’t know if I do,” Haneul shut her eyes. The bloody image sent shocks down her spine, and she sat up. “I didn’t know he was involved in all of this.”  
“Careful, this,” Suga motioned with his hands, “is very important to some of us.”  
“Well, I’m not from this world,” Haneul shot back.  
“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be with him,” Suga crossed his arms. “People like you complicate things. You’re either in, or you’re out. There’s no half-assing this shit.”

Haneul rolled her eyes, “He was so cold… he acted like I didn’t exist.”  
“What do you expect? He hid a part of himself from you and you found out about it. Anyone would feel weird.”  
Haneul shook her head, “That’s not true. Some people are honest about who they are.”  
“Clearly, he’s not some people.”

Haneul stared at Suga with her mouth agape. ‘Why is he being such an ass?’ 

Her fiery gaze drifted over to Jungkook, who’d resigned to sitting up against the wall. It looked like he’d gone in and out of crying fits, due to his red eyes and dried tears lining his face. Haneul felt bad for the pitiful young man, despite his crude comments to her at school, he looked much smaller than she remembered. He looked broken.

“Hey…” Haneul called out, gaining Jungkook’s attention. He glanced over at her, and his hollow eyes made her jump. She’d seen that same look of defeat before, in Nari’s eyes. The look she’d ignored so many times before suddenly called out to her at a pitch she could hear. 

Suga furrowed his brow, “What’re you doing?”

“It’s gonna be okay.”

Jungkook nodded slowly, looking back down at his feet. The tears he held overflowed and fell onto the tear-stained spot on the carpet below.  
“R-really,” Haneul went on. “I’m sure of it. Things will turn around, no matter what happened.”  
Suga chuckled to himself slightly, “You don’t know what you’re getting into.”  
Jungkook’s empty eyes drifted back over to her, “No. Things are different now.”  
“Why?” Haneul’s innocent question hung in the air.  
Jungkook cracked a sheepish smile, almost as if he was embarrassed, “I killed him.”

Haneul’s breath hitched and panic erupted in her chest. It felt as if a Constrictor was tightening itself around her rib cage, and her heart felt prickly. Rigid, as if she couldn’t move, Haneul retreated back into the solace she could find in her mind. 

‘I… I didn’t realize it would be him,’ Haneul thought, ‘I knew it had to be someone, but he’s just a kid like me, right? No, he… he killed someone!’

Namjoon and Taehyung strolled in with bags of cleaning supplies. Namjoon’s eyes met Haneul’s, but he looked away just as soon as they’d seen each other, almost acting as if it hadn’t happened at all. 

“There’s a lot to clean up…” Taehyung moaned.  
Namjoon poured the all purpose cleaner in the bucket, “Well, let’s get started.”

Half an hour passed before Taehyung and Namjoon were finally done cleaning. Throughout the time waiting for it, Jin, Jimin, and Hoseok rejoined the group inside the office. The large damp spot on the carpet was the only evidence something had gone awry that night, and for the time being that was good enough for Jin. 

“Finally…” Namjoon threw the rag in the bucket. “What else is there to do, Jin?”  
Jin held his hands in his pockets, “We’re all taking a drive out of the city. Suga got here by an Uber, so he’s taking Chung-hee’s car, and Jungkook is riding with me.” 

Jungkook stood up and leaned up against the wall, but his sadness kept him quiet.

“Hobi, you’ll take Taehyung and Jimin.” Jin walked over to Haneul, “Do you remember what I said earlier? About this place being the safest for you?”  
Haneul nodded, “Yeah. You said they would be coming here.”  
“Right. I think you should come with us. Does that sound alright with you?”

Haneul stepped back, “Where are we going?”  
“It’s just a short trip and we’ll all go together. It’s nothing to worry about. I told you I would protect you, kurae?” Jin held her hands in his once more, staring deep into her eyes.  
Haneul nodded, “O-okay. I’ll follow along.”  
“Namjoon’s riding with you, so you’ll feel comfortable. Just listen to him.” Jin walked off towards the exit, most of the guys following behind him.  
Haneul looked at the ground, “Yeah… sure.”

Jimin stayed behind to fix up the office, and put things back as they were, while Namjoon stood with cleaning supplies in his hands. 

Jimin picked up the mug Suga threw at him earlier, his eyes fixed on Haneul, “Some shit you got yourself in, huh?”  
“She was just worried… don’t bitch her out.” Namjoon’s grip on the supplies tightened.  
“I’m just saying. She should’ve minded her business.”  
Haneul fidgeted with her fingers, “Upset there’s not someone to care about you?”  
“Fuck off,” Jimin spat, walking out of the office. 

Namjoon turned to face Haneul, ‘She must think I’m a monster.’  
“You ready?”  
Haneul’s sad eyes trailed over to Namjoon, “Yeah.”  
“I can drive…” Namjoon started off out of the office, turning the lamp off as he went. “C’mon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder what Jin thinks of Haneul...

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for coming to check out my fic! ^^ 
> 
> i wanted to try to do something a little different this time. let's see how this goes. 
> 
> you can get at me on twitter @bunninguya ^^ hope to see you there


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